A special committee formed by William Lyon Homes said that an offer by the company’s controlling shareholder and chairman to take the company private is “inadequate.”

William Lyon, who owns a majority of the Newport Beach-based homebuilder’s stock, had offered to acquire the outstanding publicly held minority interest for $82 per share in cash. Shares of the company closed on Tuesday at $92.55 per share.

The committee, made up of several board members, issued a short statement late Monday that did not explain its reasoning or suggest an appropriate buyout price.

It said the proposal was reviewed with input from financial adviser Credit Suisse First Boston LLC, a unit of Credit Suisse Group, and the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP of New York.

Lyon and other board members are being sued by minority shareholders in a class-action lawsuit alleging that his offering price is too low. The case is pending in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

*Mathew Padilla of the Orange County Business Journal contributed to this story.