LandSource Completes the Addition of a New Strategic Partner
March 1, 2007
LandSource Communities Development LLC ("LandSource"), a joint venture between Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B), one of the nation's largest homebuilders, and LNR Property Corporation ("LNR"), one of the nation's leading real estate,finance, management and development companies, announced today that it has added assets and a new partner, MW Housing Partners ("MWHP"). MWHP is co-managed by MacFarlane Partners.
MWHP contributed cash and property with a combined value of approximately $970 million in exchange for a 68% interest in LandSource. The property, which included approximately 4,000 homesites, was part of an existing land bank relationship between MWHP and Lennar and is located in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Jersey. It was contributed into the venture at today's fair market value. Lennar will continue to have options to purchase these homesites, the build-out of which is part of Lennar's strategic business plan.
LandSource is one of the largest and most diversified land development companies in the United States, with assets located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Jersey and Florida. The Newhall Land and Farming Company ("Newhall"), a LandSource subsidiary, owns some of the last remaining large, undeveloped, but entitled, land in the greater Los Angeles area. Newhall owns 15,000 acres of land in the rapidly growing Santa Clarita Valley, approximately 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, which includes 700 acres of commercial land and other property and approximately 23,000 residential homesites.
In addition to Newhall, LandSource owns commercial and residential property that is in various stages of development in California, Florida, Nevada and Texas. Notable projects include the conversion of Washington Square, an office building in Venice, California, and two adjacent buildings into residential condominiums located two blocks from the Pacific Ocean, and the redevelopment of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard near San Francisco into more than 1,000 single-family homes and nearly 4 million square feet of commercial space.
As of January 31, 2007, LandSource had assets with a book value of approximately $1.3 billion. In the transaction, the LandSource assets were appraised at a value of approximately $2.6 billion, with a potential increase of over $600 million.
This transaction further enhances LandSource's position as one of the nation's premier land investment and development companies. It also enables LandSource to pursue the continued development of Newhall and expansion of its land portfolio. The addition of MWHP's property provides strong near-term cash flow which balances the longer-term strategic nature of Newhall and the admission of MWHP as a partner will allow Lennar and LNR to combine their respective residential and commercial expertise with the collective expertise and capital resources of MWHP to utilize LandSource as a new strategic platform.
As part of today's transaction, LandSource successfully completed a new $1.55 billion bank debt financing that consists of a $200 million undrawn five-year Revolving Credit Facility initially priced at a rate of LIBOR plus 3%, a $1.106 billion six-year Term Loan B Facility initially priced at LIBOR plus 2.75% and a $244 million seven-year Second Lien Term Facility priced at LIBOR plus 4.5%. The pricing on the Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan B Facility may be reduced based on certain events. The financing is non- recourse to the equity partners and secured by the LandSource assets. The post-closing debt-to-appraised value of the assets in LandSource is 51.7%.
Source: Lennar Corporation
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