Sumitomo Forestry’s latest acquisition is Tri Pointe Homes which it agreed to buy for $4.5 Billion.
The Japanese firm, which traces its roots back to its original logging business started in 1691, paid a 29 percent premium for Tri Pointe. Publicly traded Tri Pointe Homes sold more than 6,400 units in 2024 and it’s just the latest foray into the US home building market for Sumitomo.
Tri Pointe was founded in 2009 and builds houses in 13 states reaching from the U.S. southern regions to Washington, D.C. It has delivered more than 58,000 housing units since its founding, including more than 6,400 homes in 2024.
“Partnering with Sumitomo Forestry is a natural evolution in Tri Pointe Homes’ growth and reflects the strengths of our differentiated business strategy, premium brand and design-driven approach,” Tri Pointe CEO Doug Bauer said in a statement. “This transaction delivers compelling cash value for our stockholders while accelerating our long-term growth strategy as an independent brand.”
Sumitomo, which has a more than $7 billion market capitalization on the Japanese stock market, owns several homebuilders across the US and is on a strategy to sell 30,000 homes annually in the country by 2030. It began its push into the US housing market in 2016 when it purchased a 60 percent stake in mid-Atlantic builder DRB Group and completed the acquisition of Dallas-based Gehan Homes later that year. It was later combined with Brightland Homes and expanded.
The conglomerate “has a proven track record of respecting continuity and the autonomy of local leadership,” according to Friday’s announcement. The builder will keep its home office in Irvine, California, and its 17 divisions and financial services operations will continue to be led by existing management.
