Beazer Homes and GSO Capital Partners Announce $150 Million Land Banking Arrangement

ATLANTA & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYS: BZH) and GSO Capital Partners LP (“GSO“), the credit arm of The Blackstone Group (NYS: BX) , announced today that GSO will make available up to $150 million as part of a land banking arrangement. Funds managed by GSO will acquire new land parcels identified by Beazer Homes and option finished lots on a pre-determined takedown schedule to the Company.

“I’m very pleased that GSO has agreed to make available to the Company additional capital to enhance our land acquisition and development activities,” said Allan Merrill, CEO of Beazer Homes. “Expanding our active community count beginning in fiscal 2014 is a key part of our path-to-profitability plan and will enable us to more fully participate in the strengthening housing market.”

Doug Ostrover, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Co-Founder of GSO, said, “As the housing recovery continues to gain momentum, we are excited to partner with Beazer and extend our land banking business. GSO has a long history of working with Beazer, and we have great confidence that the management team is positioning the company well in order to capitalize on the recovery and regain profitability. We look at this incremental capital as just the first step in what we hope to be many successful future ventures with Beazer.”

ABOUT BEAZER HOMES:

Headquartered in Atlanta, Beazer Homes is one of the country’s 10 largest single-family homebuilders. The Company’s homes meet or exceed the benchmark for energy-efficient home construction as established by ENERGY STAR® and are designed with flexible floorplan options to meet the personal preferences and lifestyles of its buyers. In addition, the Company is committed to providing a range of preferred lender choices to facilitate transparent competition between lenders and enhanced customer service. The Company offers homes in 16 states, including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Beazer Homes is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BZH.” For more info visit Beazer.com , or check out Beazer on Facebook and Twitter .

ABOUT GSO CAPITAL PARTNERS LP:
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance