North Carolina Builder to Acquire Golden West Homes in Stock Deal

Golden West Homes, a Santa Ana producer of manufactured housing, will be acquired by Oakwood Homes Corp. of North Carolina in a stock deal valued at $15.5 million, Oakwood announced Monday.

Oakwood, which also makes homes in factories and ships them in modules to construction sites, will issue 700,000 shares of its common stock in exchange for all the shares of Golden West.

Michael Kilbourne, chief financial officer of Oakwood, said the acquisition gives Oakwood a stronger presence in the West and expands its home-manufacturing capacity by 50%.

“This puts our expansion plans a couple of years ahead of schedule,” Kilbourne said. “We’ve been growing very aggressively in the Northwest and in California.”

The merger is expected to close before Sept. 30, subject to certain conditions such as approval of both companies’ boards of directors and negotiation of a final agreement.

Kilbourne said Oakwood will operate Golden West Homes as a wholly owned subsidiary. No layoffs or management changes are expected, he said. The deal adds Golden West’s 753 employees to Oakwood’s 2,300.

Golden West operates factories in Sacramento and Perris, Calif., and Albany, Ore. A new plant is expected to open in Ft. Morgan, Colo., this fall. The company posted a profit of $1 million on revenue of $97 million for its latest fiscal year.

Oakwood, based in Greensboro, N.C., makes homes primarily in the South and Midwest. It reported a profit of $24.5 million on revenue of $261 million for its latest fiscal year.

Golden West Homes at a Glance

* Headquarters: Santa Ana

* Chairman and CEO: Harry E. Karsten Jr.

* Employees: 753; 41 in Orange County

* Business: Manufactured housing

* Fiscal 1994 net income: $1 million

* Manufacturing plants: Albany, Ore.; Fort Morgan, Colo.; Sacramento and Perris, Calif.

Source: Bloomberg Business News, Golden West Homes;

Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times