You’re used to thinking of high-tech companies grabbing the IPO headlines, but this week it’s Arizona-based homebuilder Taylor Morrison that’s filing papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission and looking to sell 23.8 million shares for $20–$22 a share.
This is a company that builds houses in Ontario as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, and Florida. As you can imagine, it was hard-hit by the collapse in the housing market, and back in 2011 its parent—the U.K.’s Taylor Wimpey—sold it to a group of private equity investors. The plan is to sell roughly a fifth of the firm to the public, raising around $500 million and valuing the entire enterprise at about $2.7 billion, which is obviously a great return for the buyers if they can get it. Part of what makes this interesting is that it’s an unusual case in which you pretty clearly see a connection between financial investment and “real world” investment in hiring people and machines to build homes. This isn’t just a way to cash out owners—it reflects a real anticipation of surging construction activity after the long bust.
