A takeover attempt by a Berkshire Hathaway-owned home manufacturer looks good to the potential acquiree, according to the Wall Street Journal. Modular home maker Southern Energy Homes, a unit of Berkshire, has put forth $48.4 million in order to purchase the shares of fellow home maker Cavalier Homes.
The current offer is $2.75/share, 23 percent over Friday’s closing price of $2.23. In spite of the housing market slump, shares in Cavalier have more than doubled in value so far in 2009.
“Given the current economic conditions and the tough operating environment of the manufactured housing industry,” said Cavalier CEO Bobby Tesney, the takeover offer “represents a tremendous opportunity to maximize shareholder value.”
Southern Energy is a subsidiary of Clayton Homes, itself a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Clayton is the country’s top producer of housing units in the United States.