Farallon is a San Francisco-based investment management company that manages billions of discretionary equity capital from institutional investors such as university endowments, foundations, and pension plans. Helix Funds is a Chicago-based private real estate investment management company with experience in the manufactured home communities business. GEM, also Chicago based, is a real estate investment company that invests in private-market and publicly traded real estate on behalf of€ pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, endowments, foundations, and private clients.

In conjunction with this sale, ARC transferred the rights to the "Affordable Residential Communities" name and has changed its name to Hilltop Holdings Inc. In connection with the name change, the company's New York Stock Exchange trading symbols will change to "HTH" for its common stock and "HTHPRA" for its preferred stock, effective as of August 1, 2007.

ARC says it received gross proceeds of approximately $890 million in cash, which represents the $1.79-bilion sale price minus the indebtedness assumed by American Residential Communities LLC. The company's net proceeds are estimated at $550 million, which it says will be used for general working capital, liquidation of OP units, repayment of outstanding obligations and opportunistic acquisitions.

The surviving ARC entity, ARC/Hilltop, through its NLASCO subsidiary, is a property and casualty insurance company focused on providing fire and homeowners insurance for low value dwellings and manufactured homes. The Company's products are distributed through independent agents in 23 states.