U.K. home builder Vistry Group PLC agreed to acquire rival Countryside Partnerships PLC for about $1.44 billion in stock and cash, in a move that will create one of the country’s biggest developers and represents a win for U.S.-based activist investor Browning West LP.
By joining forces, Vistry and Countryside gain greater scale to better handle a possible slowdown in the U.K. housing market, amid record-setting inflation, rising interest rates and the prospect of a lengthy recession. Last year, Countryside built 5,385 homes across parts of Britain, while its bigger rival delivered 8,639 units, according to the companies’ annual reports.
