Japanese construction giant Sumitomo Forestry is making its biggest U.S. homebuilding bet yet, placing a premium on experience with Caliifornia’s notoriously difficult regulations.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry will acquire Irvine-based Tri Pointe Homes in an all-cash transaction valued at about $4.5 billion, HousingWire reported.
Sumitomo was attracted to California-founded Tri Pointe’s longtime experience with “strict zoning regulations” and “constraints” in the Golden State, according to HousingWire. The company acquired Tri Pointe, with its 17 divisions, to purportedly take advantage of its expertise in land acquisition and architectural design. In markets such as these, navigating local politics when securing approvals is becoming increasingly critical in order for proposed projects to come to fruition.
The deal will take Tri Pointe private after more than a decade as a publicly traded company. The $47-per-share price represents a nearly 30 percent premium to Tri Pointe’s pre-announcement closing price of $36.57. Shares are now going for just under $47 each.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. Once the deal is closed, at which point Tri Pointe will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The combined fiscal year 2024 unit volume of Sumitomo’s U.S. group and Tri Pointe would total roughly 18,000 units, making the combined platform the fifth-largest homebuilder in the country by closings. The combined companies will control approximately 114,000 lots, or about six-and-a-half years of supply based on fiscal year 2024 units sold. Sumitomo aims to deliver 23,000 homes in the U.S. annually by 2030.
Sumitomo said it regards Tri Pointe as a “premium lifestyle brand” with a mix of residential offerings for residents. Of Tri Pointe’s products, 41 percent are entry-level, 52 percent are move-up homes, 5 percent are luxury properties and 2 percent are for active adult communities typically reserved for people 55 and older. Tri Pointe also maintains a high revenue per unit of about $680,000 in fiscal year 2024, which Sumitomo says would place Tri Pointe in second place among publicly listed U.S. homebuilders.
Sumitomo is no stranger to acquiring U.S. developers. In 2023, a Sumitomo Forestry subsidiary bought Texas-based JPI in a deal reportedly valued at $215 million. — Chris Malone Méndez
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