Irvine, Calif.-based property auction giant Real Estate Disposition Corporation, or REDC, said Thursday morning that that it had completed the sale of a 50 percent interest in the company to Trident IV, L.P., a private equity fund managed by Stone Point Capital LLC. Which means if you were wondering if REO auctions had entered the big time, you need wonder no more. “We are excited about our new partnership with Stone Point Capital,” saidRobert Friedman, chairman of REDC, in a press statement. “The goal has always been to expand and grow our business worldwide. Leveraging our new partner’s relationships will make our goals easier to achieve as we move forward.” Stone Point has raised more than $10 billion in committed capital across its various Trident funds, and many of its existing investments sit in the financial services and insurance businesses, a review of the company’s website shows. In particular, the private equity firm’s other investments in the mortgage services industry include ZC Sterling Corporation, which manages lender-placed hazard insurance programs; Cyprexx Services, LLC, a field services and property preservation firm; and Amherst Holdings LLC, a institutional and secondary market banking, brokerage and research firm. Stone Point’s management team is some of the industry’s heavy hitters. CEO Charles Davis is — what else, these days? — an alum of Goldman Sachs [(GS), where he was head of investment banking services. Stephen Friedman, chairman, is the non-executive chairman of the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The sale of REDC is, as a result, something of a watershed event for anyone with a history in the REO management industry. It marks the first time a firm in the space has seen itself sold to a major player in the financial markets, to the best of HW‘s knowledge. Write to Paul Jackson at [email protected]. Disclosure: The author held no relevant investment positions when this story was published. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments. HW reporters and writers follow a strict disclosure policy, the first in the mortgage trade.