Taylor Morrison rises in 1st day as public company

Apr 10, 2013, 8:10 AM | Updated: Sep 3, 2013, 10:45 am

KTAR.com

NEW YORK (AP) – Shares of Taylor Morrison Home Corp. are rising in its debut as a publicly traded company. The homebuilder’s entry on the New York Stock Exchange comes on the same day that another homebuilder filed for an initial public offering, further proof that companies are riding the continued housing recovery back to the public markets.

Taylor Morrison’s stock gained $1.27, or 5.8 percent, to $23.27 Wednesday morning. The initial public offering of 23.8 million shares was priced at $22 each, the high end of its expected range.

The company’s IPO follows homebuilder TRI Pointe Homes Inc. in January, real estate investor Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. in December and real estate services provider Realogy Holdings Inc. in October.

And on Wednesday William Lyon Homes said in a regulatory filing that it plans to raise up to $200 million from a proposed IPO. It did not disclose how many shares would be in the offering, or what the expected price range would be.

Recent data has shown a strengthening housing market. Job gains and mortgage rates near record lows have helped lift home sales, more than six years after the housing market began to collapse.

Taylor Morrison’s offering raised $523.6 million. The banks managing the deal may buy more 3.6 million shares, adding to the proceeds. The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that after the IPO it plans to sell up to $500 million in debt for general corporate purposes.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., company operates its namesake brand and Darling Homes in the U.S. and Monarch in Canada. It booked $1.44 billion in revenue last year and closed on 4,014 homes. The company sells homes ranging from $120,000 to more than $1 million, targeting first- and second-time buyers.

Taylor Morrison is trading on the NYSE under the “TMHC” ticker symbol.

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