Aames Financial Corp

In deal that may foreshadow a wave of consolidation among home lenders, the parent of Aames Home Loans said Thursday that it was being acquired by Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. for $340 million in stock and cash. Aames Investment Corp., a 50-year-old Los Angeles fixture, and Accredited, a San Diego firm founded in 1990, specialize in loans to risky borrowers, charging higher interest and fees to compensate.

Cutting costs in reaction to a tough mortgage market, Los Angeles-based sub-prime lender Aames Investment Corp. said Monday that it would close offices in Deerfield, Fla.

Aames Financial Corp. said its board appointed financial services veteran A. Jay Meyerson as chief executive of the subprime home-equity lender. "The appointment of Jay is the last phase of a management transition plan that ensured a seamless and orderly succession," said Mani Sadeghi, an Aames director who has been acting as interim chief executive since May.

In what Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman heralded Wednesday as a "wake-up call" for employers, Texaco Inc. agreed to pay $3.1 million to 186 female managers who earned less than men doing similar work.

* Aames Financial Corp. (ticker: AAM; Thursday close: $2.56, up 6 cents) was raised to "hold" from "sell" by Prudential Securities and Sutro & Co. * Ameritrade Holding Corp.

Capital Z Financial Services Fund II, a private equity fund, said Wednesday it has agreed to pay as much as $100 million to take a controlling stake in Los Angeles-based Aames Financial Corp.