MIAMI, Feb. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar Corporation
(NYSE: LEN and LEN.B) today announced the completion of its
acquisition of WCI Communities, Inc. (NYSE: WCIC), a premier
lifestyle community developer and luxury homebuilder of single and
multi-family homes, for approximately $643
million, or $23.50 per share.
The purchase includes a portfolio of well-located, owned and
controlled land totaling approximately 13,700 homesites, located in
most of the highest growth and largest coastal Florida markets, as well as WCI's
complementary real estate brokerage and title services
businesses.
Stuart Miller, Chief Executive
Officer of Lennar, said, "We are very excited to complete the
acquisition of this outstanding company. We'd like to extend a warm
welcome to the WCI associates who will be joining the Lennar
family."
Mr. Miller continued, "Prior to closing, we elected to pay the
purchase price in all cash as opposed to using 50% stock. We view
this decision as equivalent to a $321
million stock repurchase and chose this structure for
various strategic reasons. First, while the use of cash slightly
increases our current leverage, the combination of our carefully
managed 7-10% target growth rate, soft pivot land strategy and
strong profitability and operating cash flow will
continue to fortify our balance sheet and position us to end
fiscal 2017 with similar leverage to our fiscal 2016 year end.
Second, using cash versus stock for the purchase of existing, open
for business, established high-margin communities with proven
sales, offsets the need to purchase new raw land at retail prices
for future growth in these markets. Third, we continue to believe
that the housing market remains strong and will continue to
gradually improve for the foreseeable future. And finally, we
believe our stock is undervalued given our strong core business and
the maturity of our ancillary businesses."
Richard Beckwitt, President of
Lennar, said, "Through our extensive due diligence process, we have
identified many areas where we believe significant synergies will
be realized, and we anticipate a very smooth transition for current
WCI homebuyers. We are looking forward to working with the talented
associates from WCI to enhance our homebuilding operations and
ancillary businesses to maximize the opportunities from our
combined leading market position in Florida."
Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's
largest builders of quality homes for all generations. The Company
builds affordable, move-up and retirement homes primarily under the
Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment
provides mortgage financing, title insurance and closing services
for both buyers of the Company's homes and
others. Lennar's Rialto segment is a vertically
integrated asset management platform focused on investing
throughout the commercial real estate capital
structure. Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide
developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. Previous
press releases and further information about the Company may be
obtained at the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's
website, www.lennar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are
"forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
statements regarding the strength of the housing market in the
future, our 7-10% target growth rate, and our anticipated leverage
at the end of fiscal 2017. These forward-looking statements are
subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these
forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration
given to the many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results and events to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. They include the risks detailed in the
Company's filings with the SEC, including the "Risk Factors"
section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended November 30, 2016. It is
not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to
assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
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SOURCE Lennar Corporation