Berkshire Hathaway closes acquisition of ‘best-in-class’ builder 

Less than two months after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced its planned acquisition of Taylor Morrison, the deal has closed.

"Today marks an important step forward," Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel said in the July 24 announcement. "This best-in-class national homebuilder will lead our vision for a unified site-built homebuilding operation."

"Together," he added, "we will help more Americans achieve their dream of homeownership."

Terms of the deal: Berkshire said it acquired the home builder for $72.50 per share in cash. Taylor Morrison's equity value was estimated to be $6.8 billion, with a total enterprise value of about $8.5 billion.

An 'exciting new era': CEO Sheryl Palmer will continue leading Taylor Morrison as its businesses — which include resort-style living community brand Esplanade, yard sale discovery platform Yardly and financial services arm Taylor Morrison Home Funding — are integrated into Berkshire Hathaway's existing operations.

Prior to the acquisition, Taylor Morrison had a presence in 12 states. With Berkshire's Clayton Properties Group, the combined company's operations now cover 21 states and 52 housing markets, according to a news release.

Palmer acknowledged the company's "truly historic day" and "exciting new era" in a post on LinkedIn. "What excites me most is what comes next," Palmer wrote. "The scale and reach we gain by unifying with Berkshire and Clayton's 15 site-built homebuilders is transformative."

Expanding reach without forfeiting local expertise: Berkshire said its home building segment will now serve renters, first-time buyers, and consumers looking to move up, buy a second home or invest in a resort-style property.

That ability to "serve the full spectrum of consumer segments" puts the combined company "in a very unique position," Palmer said in a July 24 interview with CNBC.

"We are serving more customers in more markets — which will allow more choices for our customers — but still maintaining that very specialized, local expertise that I think has made Taylor Morrison so successful, as well as Clayton Property Groups," she added.

A long-term focus: Though the housing market has been stalled for the past four years, Palmer said she is optimistic about the future.

"We get to focus on the long game because, as you know, this is a cyclical business that we operate in," she told CNBC. That long-term view and ability to "acquire land in today's market at very disciplined prices and invest through these more unique times" provides "a unique opportunity," Palmer added.