Beazer Homes USA Inc. announced on May 11 that it rejected a $704 million buyout offer from Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., saying the offer undervalued the company.
Dream Finders announced its offer before the stock market opened May 11 to buy Atlanta-based Beazer for $25.75 a share, after privately proposing to buy the company for $28.50 in February and $29 in March.
After being rebuffed by Beazer, Dream Finders made its latest offer public.
Beazer’s stock has fallen since February, prompting Dream Finders to lower its offering price.
However, Beazer said its book value, representing the value of its assets, has risen since the original offer and was recently reported at $41.83 a share.
“The Beazer Board believes shareholders should be appropriately compensated for the value of the Company’s assets, especially its land assets, which Beazer’s Board is confident could not be replaced for what the Company paid for them,” Beazer said in a news release.
“The proposals represent a significant and unwarranted discount to Beazer’s inherent value, and neither recent nor historical industry transactions support such a valuation,” it said.
Beazer’s stock rose $6.39 to $25.16 May 11 after Dream Finders announced the offer.
Beazer announced its rejection after the market closed.
Dream Finders CEO Patrick Zalupski said in a letter to Beazer CEO Allan Merrill that a merger of the companies would give Dream Finders operations in 21 of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and pair Beazer’s strength in the West with Dream Finders’ presence in the East, Southeast and Texas.