Lennar Acquires About $740 Million of Loans and Real Estate From Three Large Financial Institutions

 MIAMI, FL /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B) announced that it completed the acquisitions of approximately $740 million of distressed real estate assets, in separate transactions, from three large financial institutions.

 The acquired assets include loans with a total unpaid principal balance of approximately $529 million and real estate properties ("REO") with an appraised value of approximately $211 million.

 The real estate assets in these transactions were purchased at a discount and paid for with a combination of cash and senior unsecured financing provided by one of the selling financial institutions.

 The combined portfolio includes approximately 397 loans and 306 properties. 

The assets consist primarily of non-performing residential and commercial acquisition, development and construction loans and REO relating to land, lots, and single-family and multi-family residential communities at varying stages of completion.

 The acquired assets are located in 17 states, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States.

  In the combined portfolio, 65% of the assets are residential and 35% are commercial.  Lennar's Rialto Investments segment will be responsible for the oversight and day-to-day management and workout of the combined portfolio.

Stuart Miller (top right photo), President and Chief Executive Officer of Lennar Corporation, said, "Rialto is uniquely positioned to underwrite and purchase pools of distressed assets and generate earnings from the resolution of those assets, one asset at a time.

“It is a wholesale to retail process driven by a hard-working group of professionals who have time-tested loan and asset workout skills."

 Mr. Miller continued, "These ground breaking transactions, sourced by Eric Feder, Head of Strategic Development for Lennar and Rialto, represent the first major purchases from the private sector.

“ We worked hand-in-hand with three large financial institutions to help them maximize the value of their distressed assets, while creating an excellent investment opportunity for our shareholders.

Contact: Diane Bessette, Vice President and Treasurer, Lennar Corporation, +1-305-229-6419 . Web Site: http://www.lennar.com/