In August of '07, BoA announced a $2 billion repurchase agreement for Countrywide Financial. This purchase of preferred stock was arranged to provide a return on investment of 7.25% per annum and provided the option to purchase common stock at a price of $18 per share. Following that initial investment, on January 11, 2008, Bank of America announced that they would buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion. This acquisition, which closed on July 1, 2008, gave the bank a substantial market share of the mortgage business, and access to Countrywide's expertise, technology, and employees for servicing mortgages. With the purchase of Countrywide Financial, BoA Corp is the nation's leading mortgage originator and servicer controlling between 20 to 25 percent of the home loan market.