BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc.'s largest shareholder has struck a deal to buy a home builder that BankAtlantic spun off three years ago.
BFC Corp. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said it would pay $286 million in stock for the builder, Levitt Corp., which has been hard-hit by slowing demand for housing in Florida and other markets. BFC already owns a 17% stake in Levitt, which rose to fame in the 1950s for developing the Levittown planned communities in New York and Pennsylvania.
The acquisition would provide Levitt with "additional strength and resources at this very challenging time," said Alan Levan, the chief executive of BFC, Levitt, and BankAtlantic. "BFC, in turn, increases its investment in a company with a tremendous past and a bright long-term future when the housing markets return to favor."
Levitt said Wednesday that it delivered 426 homes in the fourth quarter, but that more than half its orders for new homes were canceled. It did not report complete fourth-quarter earnings, but it said it expects to take $10.4 million of charges in connection with the canceled contracts.
BFC, a publicly traded holding company, owns stakes in companies in such industries as banking, real estate, and travel and leisure. It owns about 15% of BankAtlantic's Class A stock and all its Class B stock, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
