PLANO, Texas and PORT ST LUCIE, Fla., April 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Brick Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:GRBK) (“Green Brick”) today announced that GHO Homes, one of the oldest brands and leading private homebuilders on Florida’s Treasure Coast, has become Green Brick’s seventh Team Builder™ after its acquisition by Green Brick. Headquartered in Port St Lucie, Florida and operating primarily in Vero Beach, Florida, GHO Homes constructs townhouses, single family homes, and luxury homes.
Michael Kahn, Principal of Michael P Kahn Associates LLC, advised GHO Homes on the transaction. “For almost 35 years, GHO primarily focused on the retirement market so this new investment will nicely diversify Green Brick’s product and geographic offering while positioning the company for faster growth. In the 30 years I have been advising builders, this has been one of the most seamless transactions we have done because of the fit, skills, and principal-based cultures of the seller and purchaser,” noted Kahn.
Green Brick Partners has purchased all of the assets of GHO Homes and affiliates and acquired an 80% controlling ownership of GHO Homes through an investment in a newly formed entity, GRBK GHO Homes, LLC. Bill Handler will continue serving as President and will be a 20% partner in GRBK GHO Homes.
“With this strategic acquisition, Green Brick has expanded into the Florida markets with one of the best brands on Florida’s east coast,” said Jim Brickman, CEO of Green Brick Partners. “GHO and Bill Handler have a customer-first culture, an exceptional management team, and a great lot position. Our future plans include expanding GHO’s experience in age-targeted homes not only in Florida but with our other builders and markets. We believe that this transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings per share.”
In 2017, GHO Homes closed approximately 243 homes, generating over $85 million in annual revenue.
“I am pleased with the opportunity to continue to grow our business with a well-capitalized public builder that shares our values. We have historically produced high returns on capital but unlike many public builders, Green Brick Partners is committed to helping GHO grow while retaining our key employees. With Green Brick’s strong financial resources and GHO’s deep local relationships, we are well positioned for future growth and opportunities,” said Bill Handler, President of GRBK GHO Homes.
Green Brick Partners currently owns or controls approximately 6,200 prime home sites in high-growth submarkets throughout the Dallas and Atlanta metropolitan areas. The acquisition of GHO Homes has added an additional 900 lots to the Company’s portfolio.
About Green Brick Partners
Green Brick Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRBK) is a diversified homebuilding and land development company. Green Brick owns a controlling interest in four homebuilding companies in Dallas, Texas (CB JENI Homes DFW LLC, Normandy Homes (a division of CB JENI), Southgate Homes DFW LLC, and Centre Living Homes, LLC), as well as a homebuilder in Atlanta, Georgia (The Providence Group of Georgia, LLC) and a homebuilder in Port St. Lucie, Florida (GRBK GHO Homes, LLC). Green Brick also owns a non-controlling interest in Challenger Homes in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Company is engaged in all aspects of the homebuilding process, including land acquisition and the development, entitlements, design, construction, marketing, and sales for its residential neighborhoods and master planned communities. For more information about Green Brick Partners’ Team Builders™ please visit https://greenbrickpartners.com/team-builders/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Green Brick’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, prospects, financial condition, assumptions or future events or performance that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “outlook,” “strategy,” “positioned,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “projects,” “estimates” and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense. These statements are based on assumptions that Green Brick has made in light of its experience in the industry as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. Accordingly, all such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in the statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: general economic conditions, seasonality, cyclicality and competition in the homebuilding industry; demand for real estate investments in the geographic markets in which we operate; our ability to successfully manage and integrate acquisitions; significant inflation or deflation; labor and raw material shortages; the failure to recruit, retain and develop highly skilled and competent employees; an inability to acquire land suitable for residential homebuilding at reasonable prices; an inability to develop and sell communities successfully or within expected timeframes; risks related to regulatory approvals and government regulation; the interpretation of or changes to tax, labor and environmental laws and regulations; volatility of mortgage interest rates; the unavailability of mortgage financing; the occurrence of severe weather or natural disasters; risks related to future growth through strategic investments, joint ventures, partnerships and/or acquisitions; the inability to obtain suitable bonding for the development of housing projects; difficulty in obtaining sufficient capital; the occurrence of a major health and safety incident; poor relations with the residents of our communities; information technology failures and data security breaches; product liability claims, litigation and warranty claims; our debt and related service obligations; required accounting changes; an inability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; and other risks and uncertainties inherent in our business. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because the factors referred to above could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by Green Brick, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and Green Brick undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such date.