Fidelity, Granite Merger

IRVINE — Title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc., which has been buying finance companies, said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a Colorado company that specializes in loans and servicing of equipment leases nationwide.

In a stock swap, Fidelity will merge Granite Financial Inc. in Golden, Colo., into its finance operations. Fidelity will give 0.701 share for every Granite share within a price range of $22.82 and $28.53 a share. The arrangement would put the value of privately held Granite’s stock at $16 to $20 a share.

Fidelity is the nation’s fourth-largest title insurance company, earning $6 million last year on $172 million in revenue. For the third quarter, Granite earned $861,280 on revenue of $34 million.