Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes has launched a public campaign to acquire Beazer Homes USA in a deal that would create the nation’s seventh-largest homebuilder and significantly expand the company’s reach across major U.S. housing markets during a difficult period for the housing industry.
Dream Finders announced Monday that it offered $25.75 per share in cash for Beazer, valuing the Atlanta-based builder at about $704 million. The offer represents a roughly 40% premium over Beazer’s May 5 closing stock price.
The move follows months of private negotiations between the two companies that ultimately stalled. Dream Finders CEO Patrick Zalupski said the company decided to take its bid public after repeated attempts to engage with Beazer’s board failed to move discussions forward.
“We believe our proposal delivers significant value at a substantial premium for Beazer’s shareholders,” Zalupski said in a statement announcing the offer. “Combining our two companies, with our highly complementary footprints and product strategies, would create the seventh-largest U.S. homebuilder and should expand opportunities for employees, enhance options and value to customers, and increase supply of attainable housing across the country.”
The bid marks another expansion move for Dream Finders, which has grown aggressively through acquisitions since its 2021 IPO while maintaining its land-light operating strategy. The company said it has completed eight acquisitions and deployed more than $1 billion through M&A over the past five years.
Dream Finders has simultaneously expanded its presence in Tampa Bay through residential development activity and Zalupski’s growing sports holdings.
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Last month, Dream Finders reported record first-quarter net sales even as profit declined because of higher financing costs, incentives and softer market conditions. The company reported 2,408 net sales during the quarter ended March 31, up 19% from a year earlier, while net income fell to $13 million from $55 million.
At the time, Zalupski said that elevated mortgage rates and broader economic uncertainty continued to weigh on affordability and consumer confidence across the company’s markets.
The company has continued adding land positions throughout the Tampa Bay region. In February, Dream Finders purchased a 20-acre parcel at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel for $8.5 million, where it plans to develop 118 townhomes and a commercial component. The company entered the Tampa Bay market in 2024 with its first community in Manatee County and has continued to expand north of Tampa as population growth and infrastructure investment drive new development.
Zalupski also became principal owner of the Rays after an ownership group he led completed its purchase of the franchise from Stuart Sternberg in September. The group also acquired the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Meanwhile, the Rays, Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa continue working toward agreements tied to a proposed $2.3 billion stadium and mixed-use development near Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus.
In letters released alongside Monday’s announcement, Zalupski argued that Beazer’s recent financial performance strengthened the case for a sale. Dream Finders pointed to Beazer’s second consecutive quarterly net loss, a 93% year-over-year decline in adjusted EBITDA and a roughly 13% drop in the company’s stock price since Dream Finders made its previous offer in March.
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The correspondence shows that the offer evolved over several months as housing market conditions weakened. Dream Finders initially offered $28.50 per share in February, then increased the bid to $29 per share in March before lowering the offer to $25.75 this month after Beazer’s earnings decline and falling share price.
Zalupski argued that Beazer’s standalone strategy, cost structure and build costs were eroding shareholder value.
The proposed acquisition would significantly expand Dream Finders’ geographic footprint. The company said the combined builder would operate in 21 of the nation’s top 50 metropolitan statistical areas, pairing Beazer’s western-market presence with Dream Finders’ concentration across Florida, Texas, the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic.
Dream Finders also argued the companies’ product lines overlap across entry-level and move-up housing categories, which would allow the combined company to spread demand across multiple price points and housing cycles. The company said greater scale would give the combined builder more leverage with suppliers and subcontractors while improving mortgage, title and insurance operations and supporting larger investments in technology and production systems.
The public bid escalates pressure on Beazer’s board during a period of consolidation across the homebuilding industry as builders search for scale to manage financing costs, land prices, labor shortages and slower demand tied to elevated mortgage rates.
Dream Finders said it has secured financing support from Kennedy Lewis, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America and expects minimal regulatory hurdles. The company also said it is prepared to move quickly through due diligence and negotiate a definitive merger agreement if Beazer enters negotiations.
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