With the homebuilding rebound two years old, the nation’s biggest builders are combining forces, and strengthening their grip on supplies of developed land. USA Today has this report on the latest big-dollar mergers: (“Luxury homebuilder makes $1.6 billion purchase,” by Alex Veiga). “On Thursday, luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers said it agreed to buy the home-building business of privately held Shapell Industries for about $1.6 billion. The deal will give Horsham, Pa.-based Toll a trove of land parcels in wealthy, high-growth markets in California such as metro Los Angeles, Orange County, Carlsbad and the San Francisco Bay area. Earlier this week, builder Tri Pointe Homes said that it would combine with Weyerhaeuser's home-building business in a deal valued at about $2.7 billion.” The news follows major buyouts earlier in the year by builders William Lyon Homes and the Ryland Group, the paper reports.
