UPDATE 1-Lennar says will buy 15 pct of Landsource
NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilder Lennar Corp (LEN.N) said on Monday it would buy a 15 percent stake in bankrupt LandSource Communities Development LLC as part of the California-based property developer's plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
Under LandSource's reorganization plan, which was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Monday according to court documents, Lennar will invest $140 million in a company called Newhall Land Development LLC, as LandSource will be known when it exits bankruptcy.
Newhall will be debt-free and have more than $90 million in cash on hand, Lennar said in a statement.
LandSource's primary asset is The Newhall Land and Farming Co, which owns about 15,000 acres of land north of Los Angeles.
Lennar, which at one point owned part of LandSource, sold much of its interest to pension fund California Public Employees Retirement System in February 2007 for $707 million.
LandSource filed for bankruptcy in June 2008, unable to weather the downturn in California's housing market.
The case is In re: LandSource Communities Development LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-11111. (Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Gary Hill)
