Phila.-area construction company in default




In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Orleans Homebuilders Inc. of Bensalem, Pa., said it had failed to modify loan agreements in discussions with 17 senior lenders and the company is now in default, according to

a

Philadelphia Inquirer

report.

The filing said Orleans did not have the assets to repay the 17 lenders. The

Inquirer

said the company owed about $375 million to these lenders.

Orleans is the Philadelphia area’s oldest residential-construction company, the

Inquirer

noted. Alfred P. Orleans, a Russian immigrant, began building houses in Philadelphia in 1918. His son, Marvin, who died in 1986, expanded the company’s operations. His grandson, Jeffrey P. Orleans, is president, CEO and chairman.

As of Dec. 31, Orleans had 93 home communities in eight states, the article said. The company had been “on the acquisition trail” beginning in the late 1990s.

Real estate industry observers said … that Orleans had several options: find an investor or group of investors; sell off buildable land to other companies; or file for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. bankruptcy code and reorganize.

(Source:

Philadelphia Inquirer,

Feb. 19, 2010.)

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