Paulson Wins TOUSA Land Bid

Hedge fund manager John Paulson's RERF Acquisition has apparently emerged the victor in the bidding for the Western assets of the bankrupt TOUSA. It was the only bidder. "Paulson is essentially the winner," said Josh Sussberg of Kirkland and Ellis, a law firm representing the TOUSA debtors. The bankruptcy court judge will be asked to approve the sale on Wednesday Aug. 25, he said. "Hopefully we will close the sale in mid-September." Paulson agreed to pay $42.4 million for 8,277 un-started lots and 22 model homes in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. By far the largest asset in the portfolio is Red River, a development some 15 miles beyond the outskirts of Phoenix in Pinal County. Sussberg said there were two other entities registered to bid against Paulson, which was the "stalking horse" bidder, setting the starting bid on the land, but neither decided to make a higher offer. Only two minor objections to the sale have been made, Sussberg said. Neither are expected to delay the sale. One, by a surety bond holder, will be quelled, said Sussberg. The other was by Jonathan Lee Richess, a prisoner incarcerated in Kentucky for fraud who has filed more than 1,000 lawsuits in federal courts, some against the famous including President George W. Bush, Martha Stewart, Brittany Spears, and NASCAR.

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