D.R. Horton, Inc. Acquires the Homebuilding Operations of Atlanta’s Largest Builder, Crown Communities
FORT WORTH, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 9, 2014– D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), America’s Builder, announced the acquisition of the homebuilding operations of Crown Communities (“Crown”), which builds in Georgia, South Carolina, and eastern Alabama. The homebuilding assets acquired include a sales order backlog of approximately 420 homes sold, 640 homes in inventory and 2,350 lots. D.R. Horton also acquired control of approximately 3,400 lots through option contracts. In calendar 2013, Crown closed 1,540 homes ($375 million in revenue) with an average home size of approximately 3,500 square feet and an average sales price of $244,000. Crown is ranked as the 28th largest builder in the United States by Builder Magazine and is the largest builder in the Atlanta market. D.R. Horton will pay approximately $210 million in cash for the purchase, and Crown will operate as a separate division within D.R. Horton.
Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board, said, “We welcome the Crown team to the D.R. Horton family. We are excited about combining the two largest builders in the Atlanta area to establish double-digit market share for D.R. Horton. The acquisition also adds the Augusta, GA and Spartanburg, SC markets to our expansive geographic footprint, while strengthening our presence in Greenville and Columbia, SC. We believe the combined D.R. Horton and Crown team will be a strong platform for further growth in these dynamic markets in the Southeast.”
Frank Downey, Founder of Crown Communities, said, “We are proud of the outstanding reputation for quality and customer service that Crown Communities has built over the past 16 years and are looking forward to the future with the D.R. Horton team.”
D.R. Horton, Inc., America’s Builder, is the largest homebuilder in the United States, based on its 25,712 homes closed in the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2014. Founded in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, D.R. Horton has operations in 79 markets in 27 states in the East, Midwest, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and West regions of the United States. The Company is engaged in the construction and sale of high quality homes with sales prices ranging from $100,000 to over $1,000,000. D.R. Horton also provides mortgage financing and title services for homebuyers through its mortgage and title subsidiaries.
Portions of this document may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although D.R. Horton believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to D.R. Horton on the date this release was issued. D.R. Horton does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this release include that D.R. Horton will pay approximately $210 million in cash for the purchase, and Crown will operate as a separate division within D.R. Horton. Forward-looking statements also include that we are excited about combining the two largest builders in the Atlanta area to establish double-digit market share for D.R. Horton; the acquisition also adds the Augusta, GA and Spartanburg, SC markets to our expansive geographic footprint, while strengthening our presence in Greenville and Columbia, SC; and we believe the combined D.R. Horton and Crown team will be a strong platform for further growth in these dynamic markets in the Southeast.
Factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: potential deterioration in homebuilding industry conditions and the current weak U.S. economy; the cyclical nature of the homebuilding industry and changes in economic, real estate and other conditions; constriction of the credit markets, which could limit our ability to access capital and increase our costs of capital; reductions in the availability of mortgage financing and the liquidity provided by government-sponsored enterprises, the effects of government programs, a decrease in our ability to sell mortgage loans on attractive terms or an increase in mortgage interest rates; the risks associated with our land and lot inventory; home warranty and construction defect claims; supply shortages and other risks of acquiring land, building materials and skilled labor; reductions in the availability of performance bonds; increases in the costs of owning a home; the effects of governmental regulations and environmental matters on our homebuilding operations; the effects of governmental regulation on our financial services operations; our substantial debt and our ability to comply with related debt covenants, restrictions and limitations; competitive conditions within the homebuilding and financial services industries; our ability to effect our growth strategies or acquisitions successfully; the effects of the loss of key personnel; the impact of an inflationary or deflationary environment; our ability to realize the full amount of our deferred income tax assets; and information technology failures and data security breaches. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in D.R. Horton’s annual report on Form 10-K and our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, both of which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.drhorton.com
Source: D.R. Horton, Inc.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding D.R. Horton’s business which are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.