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Florida builder seeks bankruptcy protection

By Times wires
Published November 10, 2007


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FORT LAUDERDALE - Levitt Corp. unit Levitt & Sons LLC, a builder of planned suburban communities, filed for bankruptcy Friday, becoming the latest casualty in the U.S. housing market collapse.

The company filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale. Levitt listed debt of more than $100-million. Thirty-eight Levitt Corp. affiliates also sought court protection.

Levitt & Sons, now the largest builder in bankruptcy, last month received default notifications from Wachovia Corp. relating to three separate loans totaling $181.5-million and a notice from KeyCorp relating to a $125-million loan, according to an Oct. 17 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

As part of the bankruptcy process "we will explore the potential sale of all or some of Levitt & Sons' assets," said Lawrence Young, the company's chief restructuring officer.

He said the company would "seek a mechanism that will facilitate the completion of some unfinished homes."

The company has built more than 200,000 homes in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Europe, the company said.

[Last modified November 9, 2007, 23:12:09]


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