Beazer Homes USA, Inc. announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Venture Homes, a leading private homebuilder in Atlanta, for approximately $65 million.

Venture Homes was founded by CEO and President Robert White Sr. in 1984, and has delivered more than 6,000 homes during its 34 year history. Over the last 12 months, Venture Homes generated $69.9 million of homebuilding revenue from 277 closings with an average selling price of $252.2 thousand.

The Venture assets to be acquired by Beazer include more than 1,000 lots located in 9 active communities and 18 future communities principally serving first time and first move-up homebuyers. The transaction also includes substantial construction work in process as well as 51 homes in backlog. The unique benefits of the transaction include:

• Similar customer focus. Venture’s customer positioning is well-aligned with Beazer’s commitment to provide extraordinary value at an affordable price to homebuyers. The Company will be able to provide its Mortgage Choice, Choice Plan and Energy Efficiency advantages to a larger group of home buyers

• Increased scale in an existing market. On a combined basis, Beazer and Venture have closed nearly 500 homes in Atlanta over the last 12 months, which ranks among the top 10 builders in the market. This added scale will create opportunities with, and for, trade partners, current and prospective employees and land sellers

• Compelling land acquisition leading to earnings and ROA growth. The transaction represents a rare opportunity to acquire a portfolio of performing communities and future land assets at an attractive price. This results in a faster improvement in both earnings and return on assets than would be possible solely from land purchases

• No increase in debt from transaction. The transaction was funded from available cash and resulted in no increase in debt

“This acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth in Atlanta, a highly desirable market supported by robust job growth, solid affordability and favorable supply dynamics,” said Allan Merrill, President and CEO of Beazer Homes. “In addition to adding new and future communities, we are pleased to welcome our new colleagues who will enable us to pursue further growth in the Atlanta market in the years ahead.”

Venture Homes Founder, CEO and President, Robert White Sr. stated, “While we received proposals from a number of other builders, Beazer Homes’ culture and commitment to delivering both a quality experience for buyers and opportunities for employees most closely aligned with our values. We’re excited about the opportunities that this combination creates for both our customers and our employees.”

The parties expect the transaction to close promptly upon the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Preliminary Fiscal 2018 Third Quarter Results

In connection with the Venture acquisition, Beazer also pre-released the following preliminary results for its fiscal 2018 third quarter:

• Homebuilding revenue of $507.0 million, provided by 1,391 home closings and an average selling price of $364.5 thousand

• New home orders of 1,450, based on an average community count of 157 and sales per community per month of 3.1

• Dollar value of backlog of $920.7 million, resulting from 2,371 homes in backlog and with an average price of $388.3 thousand

Fiscal 2018 and 2019 Outlook

In addition, the Company stated that based on the continued strength of its year-to-date results and the favorable supply and demand environment for new homes in its markets, Beazer Homes is providing the following guidance for the remainder of fiscal 2018:

• Achievement of the Company’s long-stated “2B-10” goals, including both its revenue and Adjusted EBITDA targets

• Retirement of the Company’s 2019 senior notes, which have a remaining principal balance of $96.4 million

Further, in light of the positive factors noted above and the contributions anticipated from the newly acquired Venture communities, the Company also announced its expectations with respect to fiscal 2019:

• Earnings per share above $2.50

• Double-digit growth in Adjusted EBITDA

• Further reductions in outstanding debt