Gehan Homes, a Dallas-based homebuilder, and Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc. announce an agreement for Sumitomo Forestry to acquire 51% of the homebuilder.
The new partnership is designed to strengthen the market position of Gehan Homes in each of their 5 homebuilding markets, all of which are among the fastest growing housing markets in the United States. “Our new partnership with Sumitomo Forestry will give Gehan Homes added financial strength to better take advantage of a growing residential housing market, especially in the area of land acquisition,” said Timothy Gehan, CEO of Gehan Homes.
Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd, a 320 year old, publicly traded timber, wood products and homebuilding company based in Tokyo, Japan. Sumitomo Forestry America has existing U.S. homebuilding operations in Seattle and the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas market.
“We believe that Gehan Homes is well-positioned to meet the needs of today’s discriminating homebuyer”
With their equity investment in Gehan Homes, Sumitomo expands its presence in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and adds the other fast-growing markets of Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Phoenix, Arizona.
Gehan Homes will maintain its existing management and operational structure, including its executive team of brothers Tim Gehan, Glenn Gehan and Peter Gehan who founded the company along with their family. “It was important to us to continue our current organization in order to build on the successes we have had while positioning the company for future growth,” said Glenn Gehan.
Gehan Homes builds in the “move-up,” “second move-up” and “luxury” homebuyer categories. Currently, Gehan Homes is selling in 58 communities across Texas and Arizona. The company has seen a steady increase in average selling price over the past four years due to upgrades in floor plans and community locations. “We believe that Gehan Homes is well-positioned to meet the needs of today’s discriminating homebuyer,” said Peter Gehan. “We are excited about our new partnership with Sumitomo Forestry and the strengthening of our company to continue its growth in the future.”
