IRVINE, CA—The merger of Standard Pacific Corp. and the Ryland Group Inc. is now a done deal, creating the nation's fourth largest homebuilder with a market capitalization of $5.4 billion, an enterprise value of $8.4 billion and operations across 41 metropolitan areas in 17 states. To be known as CalAtlantic Group Inc., the company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAA. It is also launching a combined consumer brand, CalAtlantic Homes.

Ryland president and CEO Larry Nicholson will now serve in the same capacities at CalAtlantic, while Standard Pacific's president and CEO, Scott Stowell, will serve as executive chairman of the combined company's new board of directors. Following the merger announcement this past June 14, “we picked all of our divisional and regional leadership, because we felt it was extremely important to have leadership put in place to help us get through this integration,” Nicholson tells GlobeSt.com.

The integration process has involved the work of 15 different teams, he adds. “As we flip the switch to CalAtlantic, we feel we can operate the business without interruption.” Helping that integration, and the completion of the merger in a 90-day period, was the gradual discovery that “we were much more alike than we even anticipated.”

Talks leading to the merger began this past February, says Nicholson. At that time, “we felt that the homebuilding industry was starting to move in a very positive fashion. We felt we were in the early innings of the recovery.” The closing of the deal to create what is now known as CalAtlantic comes soon after the National Association of Home Builders reported that member confidence was up in August, as evinced by a 3.5% increase in building permits.

Combining two companies with strong balance sheets and “not a lot of overlap” in their markets appeared to be a way of expediting their growth strategies. “We felt we could do it more quickly together than alone,” Nicholson says.

In the near term, completing the integration will be the main priority; six to nine months out, “our focus will be on growing the business,” says Nicholson. A major benefit for the combined company from day one, he adds, is the “wide breadth of product” CalAtlantic offers, ranging from entry-level to luxury and including active adult.  

Another priority over the next several months will be establishing a bicoastal presence. CalAtlantic will remain headquartered in Irvine, CA, with plans to open offices in Northern Virginia.