CENTEX, PULTE MERGER APPROVED

DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – Shareholders for homebuilders Centex Corp. and Pulte Homes Inc. have approved a merger of the two companies.

Michigan-based Pulte will acquire Dallas-based Centex, according to a source who attended the shareholders' vote on Tuesday. Pulte shareholders will own 68 percent of the merged company; Centex shareholders will own 32 percent.

According to research done by the Dallas Business Journal, Centex was the largest homebuilder in North Texas in 2007, with 2,170 housing starts. The company dropped to third last year, with 881 housing starts.

Pulte Homes of Texas ranked 12th in the Dallas–Fort Worth area in 2007, with 664 North Texas housing starts. That number fell to 495 in 2008, putting it at No. 11 that year.