Fleetwood Wants Stock

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. plans a private offering of about $250 million in convertible preferred shares and will use proceeds to buy back Fleetwood stock owned by founder and retired Chairman and Chief Executive John C. Crean.

Last week, the maker of manufactured housing and recreational vehicles said it would repurchase 5.2 million shares of common stock from Crean, who recently retired, for $176.8 million, a 15% discount based on Wednesday’s closing price of $40. Crean’s shares represent about 14% of Fleetwood’s common stock outstanding.

Irvine-based Fleetwood said the proceeds would also be used for general corporate purposes, including potentially funding part of the company’s investment in Expression Homes, its joint venture with home builder Pulte Corp. Expression Homes owns and operates manufactured-home retail centers.