There’s about to be more consolidation in the homebuilding industry.
Last year was all about Lennar, which acquired WCI Communities, a luxury homebuilder headquartered in Florida, for $963 million, and later, buying CalAtlantic Group in a $9.3 billion deal that created the nation’s largest homebuilder.
Now, it’s Taylor Morrison’s turn.
The homebuilder announced Thursday that it is acquiring fellow homebuilder AV Homes in a deal valued at nearly $1 billion.
In a release, Taylor Morrison said that it views AV Homes’ portfolio as complementary to its own. AV Homes has homebuilding operations in Florida, the Carolinas, Arizona, and Texas.
“The joining of Taylor Morrison and AV Homes supports our strategic growth priority by bringing us deeper into five of our current markets, adding Jacksonville to the portfolio, and further expanding our offerings in the affordable first-time buyer and active adult consumer segments,” Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison chairman and CEO, said.
“This transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, will serve as a means to further enhance our land pipeline in the right locations, potentially offsetting some future land purchases, while simultaneously delivering land to our homebuilding operations with mature communities,” Palmer continued.
“What’s more, we believe the commonalities in product offerings and consumer groups will create opportunities for scale efficiencies and enhance our national footprint while creating top and bottom-line performance improvement,” Palmer concluded.
Under the terms of the deal, Taylor Morrison will acquire all of AV Homes’ outstanding shares for $21.50 per share in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $963 million, which includes AV Homes’ outstanding debt.
As part of the deal, AV Homes stockholders will have the option to receive $21.50 in cash per share, 0.9793 shares of Taylor Morrison Class A common stock per share of AV Homes stock, or a combination of $12.64 in cash and 0.4034 shares of Taylor Morrison Class A common stock.
The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the deal, which will now go to AV Homes’ stockholders for their approval.
“We are pleased with the significant progress AV Homes has made over the last several years executing our growth strategy, including being recognized as the fastest growing public homebuilder in both 2015 and 2016,” AV Homes President and CEO Roger Cregg said.
“Through our focus on consumer segmentation and geographical diversification, we have grown our position in both existing and new attractive metropolitan areas,” Cregg added. “By combining with Taylor Morrison, one of the country’s finest homebuilders, we will create a premier homebuilder in some of the country's highest growth areas and drive accretive returns for our shareholders for years to come.”
The companies expect the deal to close either later this year, either late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter.
