More executive changes that will take place at William Lyon Homes (NYSE: WLH) in the wake of its forthcoming sale to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC) are beginning to be announced.
Taylor Morrison agreed in early November to buy William Lyon, in a deal expected to close by the second quarter of 2020.
The firm is paying $855 million in cash and stock for the local homebuilder, a deal valued at $2.4 billion when factoring in debt.
It’s Taylor Morrison’s sixth and largest acquisition to date. The combined firms’ operations will create the fifth-largest U.S. homebuilder and developer firm, with about 14,200 home sales per year.
CEO’s Consulting Role
At the time the deal was struck, only one William Lyon exec position was specified post-acquisition, that of Bill H. Lyon.
Lyon, who succeeded his father—the company’s founder—Gen. William Lyon in 2016 as executive chairman of the homebuilder’s board, will join Taylor Morrison’s board of directors following the close of the deal.
A handful of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month provide a few new organizational details.
William Lyon’s Chief Executive Officer, Matt Zaist, will be staying involved, but only in a consulting capacity, a Dec. 9 announcement said.
Taylor Morrison’s CEO, Sheryl Palmer, said Zaist will support “the future company as a consultant, working closely with me and advising us on the transition and key strategic and business and opportunities.”
“His expertise on the way William Lyon has successfully grown and run its business will be instrumental to us in the future combined business, and I am looking forward to working closely together,” Palmer said.
2 Regional Presidents
Brian Doyle, currently executive vice president and chief operations officer at William Lyon, was also cited in SEC filings as having a new role in the combined company.
Doyle will oversee the western region of Taylor Morrison, an area that includes Southern California, Northern California, Seattle and Portland.
John Bohnen, who joined William Lyon in 2018 through the company’s $460 million acquisition of fellow Newport Beach builder RSI Communities, was named head of the southeast region. He will oversee Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina, and Atlanta.
Bohnen currently acts as regional president from Texas for William Lyon Homes.
William Lyon’s current Nevada Division President, James Gomez, will lead Las Vegas.
The combined company’s Southern California operations will retain a few high-ranking William Lyon executives with Jon Robertson as division president and Jeff Dean in the Inland Empire; while Taylor Morrison’s Nicole Murray will be a notable local executive to watch as the SoCal division manager.
“One of the many exciting aspects of the pending William Lyon acquisition is the entrance we’ll enjoy into the Portland, Seattle and Las Vegas markets, along with the deeper market presence in key Arizona, Texas, Colorado and California Markets,” Palmer said.
“We’re gearing up to become a bigger, better builder than we’ve ever been before,” Palmer said.
