Pulte, Centex Shareholders Approve Merger

Bloomfield Hills, MI, Aug. 19, 2009--Shareholders of Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp. approved the merger of their companies by wide margins, paving the way for the creation of the No. 1 U.S. home builder to overtake D.R. Horton Inc.

The company also named Richard Dugas Jr, Pulte's president and chief executive, to the position of chairman, succeeding Pulte's former chairman, William Pulte, the company's founder.

William Pulte will continue to serve as a director and employee of Pulte and receive an annual salary of $1 million.

Pulte will remain based in Bloomfield Hills and will change its name to PulteGroup Inc when it files a certificate with the state to amend its articles of incorporation.

In April, No. 2 Pulte said it would buy No. 3 Centex in a stock deal now worth about $1.6 billion.

Pulte has said it will target a highly coveted demographic after the closing of the deal, going after first-time home owners who do not need to sell a home in order to buy a new one.