In a move that reshapes the U.S. homebuilding map like a master developer redrawing blueprints, Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd. announced Friday it will acquire Tri Pointe Homes in a $4.5 billion all-cash transaction, taking the Irvine, California-based builder private.
The deal, steered by Morrison Foerster LLP for Sumitomo and Paul Hastings LLP for Tri Pointe, underscores the Japanese forestry giant’s accelerating bet on the American housing market.
Under the agreement, Sumitomo will pay $47 per share in cash — a roughly 29% premium over Tri Pointe’s closing stock price Thursday. When the transaction closes, Tri Pointe will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and fold into Sumitomo Forestry’s growing network of U.S. homebuilders.
A Strategic Expansion Across American Soil
Sumitomo Forestry President and CEO Toshiro Mitsuyoshi described the acquisition as a decisive stride forward in the company’s long-term growth strategy.
“The addition of Tri Pointe Homes represents a significant step forward in advancing our growth strategy,” Mitsuyoshi said. He pointed to shared priorities — quality construction, customer experience and a decentralized culture that empowers local operating teams. By merging strengths across Tri Pointe and the five existing U.S. homebuilders in Sumitomo’s portfolio, the company expects to sharpen profitability and operational leverage.
Founded in 2009, Tri Pointe has built a formidable presence across the West, Southwest and Southeast. Over its 17-year history, the builder has delivered more than 58,000 homes to American buyers — a footprint that reads like a cross-country corridor of new neighborhoods.
Sumitomo Forestry, for its part, has spent more than two decades investing in locally led builders in the United States. One of its central aims: expanding the number of homes it can deliver to a market strained by affordability pressures and supply constraints.
