Hovnanian Buys Town & Country Homes, 2nd Acquisiti
Red Bank, NJ, March 2--Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. acquired privately held homebuilder Town & Country Homes Inc. for an undisclosed price in a deal expected to boost 2005 earnings by 5 cents per share.
The acquisition was the second in two days for Hovnanian, which on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Cambridge Homes, a private homebuilder based in Almonte Springs, Fla., that had revenue of $166 million in 2004.
In discussing the Town & Country acquisition, Hovnanian said it paid cash in what it believes "is the largest private homebuilder acquisition ever consummated."
With the acquisition of Lombard, Ill.-based Town & Country, Hovnanian enters the Chicago housing market and also expands its operations in Florida and Minnesota, the company said.
The company also entered a joint venture agreement with Blackstone Real Estate Advisors to own and develop Town & Country's existing residential communities.
Town & Country anticipates delivering 2,000 homes this year to generate about $640 million in revenue. At Dec. 31, the company held a total of about 9,600 lots and had a backlog of 1,153 homes worth about $400 million.
