PRESS RELEASE
From:
BUILDER 2009 Posted on: February 25, 2009 3:23:00 PM
Ashton Woods Converts Public Debt to Private
Company will save $13 million annually since it will no longer be required to file with the SEC.
Tom Krobot sounds very different from most builders these days, as he speaks in a voice that reveals equal parts relief and optimism.
"We are tickled pink about where we are," says Krobot, CEO of Atlanta-based
Ashton Woods USA, which recently announced that it has successfully restructured notes with its lenders and bondholders, exchanging public debt for private debt and saving the company approximately $13 million annually.
The deal marks the end of months of negotiations for Ashton Woods, whose parent company, the Great Gulf Group of Canada, also agreed to invest an additional $20 million in the builder.
The company has been bucking many home building industry trends. Sales are up 30 percent on an annual basis, and expects to sell 1,100 homes this year. Cancellation rates have plummeted from 45% one year ago to roughly 20%, which is far closer to Ashton's historical levels. Capture rates for prospective buyers have soared, from 25% to 80% as sales associates have concentrated on asking for the sale.
The CEO says the company's employees deserve much of the credit for the builder's successful restructuring. "I didn't do it - they did it," Krobot says. "If they hadn't performed the way they did the past six months, I don't know if the bank would have agreed to extend the line of if the bondholders would have agreed to exchange the notes."
Ashton Woods is currently building in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Tampa and Orlando. Visit
http://www.ashtonwoods.com/ for more information on locations and pricing. With historically low interest rates, competitive pricing, and the newly released
First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, now is the perfect time to buy and Ashton Woods Home!
