KB Home Makes Settlement in Failed Nevada Land Deal

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KB Homes and two other homebuilders involved in a failed residential project in suburban Las Vegas have agreed to pay lenders more than $250 million to settle lawsuits, with the Los Angeles company responsible for most of the settlement.

Inspirada was envisioned as a 14,500-home master-planned community on 2,000 acres near Henderson in 2004, as the Nevada real-estate market was taking off. Designed as an off-balance-sheet joint venture with Beazer Homes USA Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc., the project fell victim to the housing bust.

The project’s roughly 50 lenders, which include J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, provided the South Edge LLC joint venture $585 million. After arbitration failed, J.P. Morgan filed a petition to force South Edge into involuntary bankruptcy.

KB Home, which owns 48 percent of the joint venture, said in a regulatory filing that it expected to pay between $216 million and $240 million to the lenders. In return, it will get a 65 to 68 percent stake in the underlying land for a future development. Beazer said that it would pay between $15.7 million and $17 million. Toll has not disclosed its planned cash settlement. The agreements are subject to bankruptcy court approval

KB Home, which had nearly $736 million in cash on hand as of Feb. 28, said it may have other obligations in the case and has set aside $212 million in reserve funds.

KB Homes’ stock was up 25 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $11.19 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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