For Immediate Release
July 1, 2013
Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Forestry Acquires Equity Share in Homebuilder in Texas, U.S.

Expanding U.S. Housing Business


Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Akira Ichikawa; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) announced today that its 100% subsidiary Sumitomo Forestry Seattle, Inc. (President: Masuhiko Ikezawa; Head Office: Bellevue, WA) concluded the purchase of 50% equity stake in Bloomfield Homes, L.P., a homebuilder in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in Texas, U.S.
Sumitomo Forestry considers overseas business as one of its growth engines and has been expanding its U.S. housing business aiming to become a national homebuilder. While it conducts housing business in Seattle, growth in that area is constricted by its geographical limitation of being surrounded by the sea and mountains. In order to further expand its housing business in the U.S., the company has been exploring other areas for growth.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is 2.5 times larger in market size compared to Seattle with 7 million people and 20,000 new housing starts in 2012. The area is flourishing with rapidly growing high- tech industries such as semiconductor and aircraft-related industries and the population growth rate in the past 10 years is around 20%. Fueled by the population growth, which rate is one of the highest in the U.S., the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area promises robust housing demand.
Established in 2004, Bloomfield Homes L. P. has grown quickly to become the 8th largest homebuilder in the region with the sales of $89 million and 400 closings in the fiscal year that ended December 2012. The company expects fiscal 2013 sales to be $135 million with 600 closings.
Together with its existing Seattle operation and the 3,500 lots secured by Bloomfield Homes in Dallas-Fort Worth, Sumitomo Forestry Group plans to establish a business base for annual 1,500 closings in the U.S. The Group also intends to further expand its housing business in other regions in the U.S.
Bloomfield Homes
(1) Name of Company Bloomfield Homes, L.P. (2) Representative Donald Dykstra, President (3) Head Office Southlake, Texas, U.S.A. (4) Establishment September 2004
(5) Businesses Home building and lot development in Dallas-Fort Worth
metropolitan area
(6) Number of Employees 64 full time and part time employees
(7) Annual sales 89 million USD
(6) and (7) are for the fiscal year that ended December 2012.
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