About F&%$in' Time: Homebuilders Merging

Pulte & Centex:  Two Dog Stocks Finally Get Hitched

Pulte & Centex: Two Dog Stocks Finally Get Hitched

Watching the homebuilders stubbornly try to go it alone over the last few years has been highly frustrating, like an adult chaperon at the 6th grade dance watching the boys stand on one side of the gym and the girls on the other.  When you have a group of companies facing this type of nosedive in their industry, you want capacity taken out.  Taking out capacity helps pricing and prevents over-supply, and if there is one sector badly in need of help with poor pricing and over-supply, its housing.

One way for this to happen is bankruptcy, but no one in this country goes bankrupt anymore, apparently, except poor Circuit City.  The other ways to take out unwanted capacity are mergers and acquisitions.

From the New York Times:
In a transaction that would create the nation’s largest homebuilder, Pulte Homes and Centex said Wednesday that they would merge in a $1.3 billion stock-for-stock deal.

All kidding aside, what were these guys waiting for?

The merger, said the chief executive of Pulte, Richard J. Dugas Jr., “puts us in an excellent position to navigate through the current housing downturn.”

Duh.

Toll Brothers, where are you guys?  DR Horton, are you listening?  Lennar?  Someone buy this Hovnanian disaster out or put ’em under.  Its at $1.50!  And they’re still building for Crom‘s sake!  IN FLORIDA!

Enough already!

Let’s rationalize this industry and put an end to the over-building.  C’mon boys, cozy up and consummate, we won’t watch.

Full Story:  Pulte and Centex Merge (NYT)

Full Disclusure:  I have no positions whatsoever in any of the companies mentioned.

Tags: , , , , , ,

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. sell cvv commented on Jan 12

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2009/04/08/about-fin-time-homebuilders-merging/ […]

  2. DevSecOps Consultants commented on Jan 17

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2009/04/08/about-fin-time-homebuilders-merging/ […]

  3. Continuous Integration Continuous Delivery commented on Feb 07

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 78683 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2009/04/08/about-fin-time-homebuilders-merging/ […]