Toll Brothers to acquire Shapell home building business

US house builder Toll Brothers has agreed to purchase the residential construction business of Shapell Industries for US$ 1.6 billion in cash.

Shapell is one of California’s largest land development and residential construction companies. It was established in 1955 and has built some 70,000 homes in its history. Last year it completed 347 homes at an average price of US$ 791,000. Toll Brothers, which is one of the largest house builders in the US and positions itself in the luxury market, has had a presence in California since 1994 and has completed 7,700 homes in that time.

Among the assets Toll Brothers will gain with the Shapell acquisition, are some 5,200 plots, which will take its total Californian land bank to 9,200 lots.

Toll Brothers CEO Douglas C. Yearley Jr. said, “The tremendous land portfolio the Shapell family has amassed over decades in California presents an incredible opportunity for Toll Brothers. This acquisition will provide significant growth over the coming years and, we believe, will be accretive to earnings in the first year, excluding transaction costs.

"Shapell's current portfolio dovetails perfectly with our own California footprint and luxury brand, and adds meaningfully to our presence in premier coastal locations in California.”

Shapell CEO Bill West added, "The Board of Directors of Shapell made the difficult decision to sell their homebuilding business after careful deliberation. Toll Brothers' outstanding reputation as a high quality home builder, its focus on superior customer satisfaction and its employees made the decision easier."