Publicly held Sun Communities Inc. (NYSE: SUI) agreed on a $1.68 billion deal to buy a group of manufactured housing and recreational vehicle communities, including 35 in Florida.
The planned acquisition “broadens our market share throughout Florida, where we continue to see high demand,” Gary A. Schiffman, chairman and chief executive officer of Sun Communities, said in a press release.
Southfield, Michigan-based Sun Communities agreed with Carefree Communities Inc. to acquire its common stock. Carefree owns 103 manufactured housing and RV communities with a combined total of 27,544 sites, mostly RV sites.
Most of the 35 Carefree locations in Florida are clustered in Central Florida, according to Carefree’s website. The company has no locations in Miami-Dade County or Palm Beach County. It has one community in Broward County, Tallowwood Isle in Fort Lauderdale, and three in the Florida Keys.
The Sun Communities acquisition of Carefree also would include about 2,580 additional RV sites and about 400 more manufactured housing sites suitable for development.
Sun Communities said in a press release that the $1.68 billion transaction was expected to close no later than July 9.