Five Point Holdings LLC, the Irvine-based owner and developer of master-planned neighborhoods, announced today it entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Calabasas-based Hearthstone Inc., a private investment company for homebuilders.
The acquisition will result in a newly formed business called Hearthstone Residential Holdings LLC and, according to a Five Point Holdings statement, would “include substantially all of the business and operations of Hearthstone.”
Shares of Five Point Holdings (NYSE: FPH) were down a little more than 1% when the markets opened on June 20 and after the company’s announcement about Hearthstone.
Five Point Holdings will own 75% of Hearthstone, as part of the new entity. The other 25% of Hearthstone will remain with Mike Porath, the company’s chief executive and founder. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
Hearthstone Residential Holdings will be managed by the existing Hearthstone management team and would allow Five Point Holdings and Hearthstone, through a strategic partnership, to provide off-balance sheet capital for homebuilders.
“Off-balance sheet” financing is a practice of not including assets, liabilities or other financial activities on a balance sheet in order to gain favorable debt-to-equity ratios.
Read the June 30 issue for additional details.
