Standard Pacific of Costa Mesa to Buy Colorado Home Builder

Standard Pacific Corp., one of the largest U.S. home builders, said Monday that it agreed to buy construction company Writer Corp. for about $27.4 million in cash and stock to expand into the Colorado market.

Costa Mesa-based Standard Pacific also said it agreed to assume about $27 million of Writer’s debt.

The home builder will pay $3.42 per share for Writer’s stock, 52% above the company’s closing price Friday. On Monday, Writer’s shares, which trade over the counter, rose 44 cents, or 19%, to $2.69.

Standard Pacific said Writer shareholders will be able to choose between receiving cash and stock or only cash.

The acquisition would let Standard Pacific expand into Colorado, which it said has strong potential. The company primarily builds single-family homes and operates in California, Arizona and Texas.

Writer, which is based in Englewood, Colo., builds townhomes and single-family houses. It will operate under its own name as a subsidiary of Standard Pacific.

Writer had $82 million in revenue in 1999. Standard Pacific posted net income of about $68 million, or $2.27 a share, for 1999 on revenue of about $1.2 billion.

Standard Pacific shares rose 31 cents to $9.31 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.