Howard Hughes Holdings has formed a committee to review a potential proposal from its largest shareholder to take the development firm private.
In a regulatory filing, Pershing Square Capital Management said it plans to evaluate the possibility of acquiring all or most of the shares of common stock not owned by Pershing and affiliates. Pershing now owns roughly 37.5% of Howard Hughes' total outstanding shares.
The Howard Hughes committee will review any proposal "and evaluate it in light of other strategic alternatives that may be available to HHH, including continuing to operate as a publicly traded company," the developer said in a statement. "The board and the special committee are committed to acting in the best interests of HHH and its stockholders."
Howard Hughes, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is a master planner, developer and property owner in Texas, Nevada, Arizona, New York, Arizona, Hawaii and Maryland. It has mixed-use projects, including Summerlin near Las Vegas, Downtown Columbia in Columbia, Maryland, and The Woodlands.
Two weeks ago, the company increased its annual condominium sales expectations on the strength of residential land and condo demand.
It now projects that revenue to range between $730 million and $750 million, up from $675 million and $725 million. In addition, the company said increased demand for land from homebuilders during the quarter ended June 30 had contributed to a record quarterly average price of $1 million per acre.
Even with elevated mortgage rates near 7% and recent home sales falling short of analyst expectations, CEO David O’Reilly told investors on the earnings conference call that the housing market is better than what headlines suggest.
