Japanese home builder Sekisui House Ltd. said Thursday it will buy U.S. peer M.D.C. Holdings Inc. for $4.95 billion to meet growing needs for single-family homes in the world's biggest economy.

Sekisui House said the acquisition will make it the fifth-biggest home builder in the United States, with about 15,000 house closings annually.

The Japanese company said under the deal, it will acquire all outstanding shares of the Denver-based company for $63 per share, adding a 19 percent premium to its closing price Wednesday.

The deal, expected to be completed by the first half of this year, comes as Japanese home builders face a shrinking domestic market due to a declining population.

"This transaction directly aligns with our stated strategy for growth in North America and will create a more resilient portfolio for Sekisui House," Sekisui CEO Yoshihiro Nakai said in a statement.

M.D.C., which has operations in 16 states, is the 11th biggest home builder in the United States, delivering about 9,700 homes in 2022, Sekisui said. It booked a net profit of $562 million on sales of $5.7 billion that year.

Sekisui House started gaining a foothold in the U.S. market in 2017 when it bought U.S. peer Woodside Homes Co.

==Kyodo

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