Luxury home builder WCI Communities Inc filed with US regulators on Friday to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offer of its common stock. The Florida-based company, which designs, sells and builds homes in coastal Florida, said it expects to benefit from low interest rates and rising rents that have encouraged more Americans to buy homes after the housing bust.
The company, which counts Monarch Alternative Capital LP and Stonehill Institutional Partners LP among its stockholders, did not reveal how many shares it planned to sell or their expected price. WCI Communities expects to use the proceeds raised for the acquisition and development of land, home construction and for investment purposes.
The US homebuilder sentiment index rose to 44 in May from 41 in April as sales improved, data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) showed last week. The stocks of homebuilders Tri Pointe Homes Inc, William Lyon Homes and Taylor Morrison Home Corp are trading well above their IPO prices.
The company intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WCIC." WCI Communities listed Citigroup, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan as lead underwriters to its offering.