BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Dubai company buys homebuilder

NEWPORT BEACH -- Homebuilder John Laing Homes has been purchased for more than $1 billion by a real estate company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the companies announced Friday.

Emaar Properties is one of the world's largest real estate companies. John Laing Homes is the second-largest privately held homebuilder in the United States, with revenues of $1.6 billion and 2,891 residential closings in 2005.

The $1.050 billion all-cash transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and closed Friday.

On April 17, Emaar filed voluntarily with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which approved the transaction.

In addition to commercial and residential development in Dubai, Emaar has real estate operations in more than 12 countries including India, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The company is known for its signature projects, including the construction of the Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest building in the world when it is completed in 2008.

John Laing Homes, which has been in business for 150 years, will be operated as a division of Emaar. Its corporate headquarters will remain in Newport Beach.

Micron ups offer to acquire Lexar

SAN JOSE -- In an 11th hour move before a potentially contentious stockholders' vote, Micron Technology Inc. said Friday it is prepared to sweeten its bid to acquire flash memory products maker Lexar Media Inc. Under the new proposal, each share of Lexar would be traded for .5925 shares of Micron, up 5.3 percent from the previous exchange ratio of .5625. The revised ratio is subject to the approval of both company boards, the companies said.

Though the value of the acquisition would not be set until closing, the revised bid would put the deal's value at about $826.5 million, based on Thursday's closing share prices and number of outstanding shares. The original stock-for-stock deal was valued at $688 million when it was announced in March.

The news came only hours ahead of a scheduled vote by Lexar shareholders at its company headquarters in Fremont. The special meeting was adjourned and rescheduled for June 16.

Pulte Homes lowers outlook

DETROIT -- Pulte Homes Inc. on Friday became the latest major homebuilder to lower its full-year earnings outlook as the housing market continues to cool. Its shares tumbled more than 5 percent to a new 52-week low.

Pulte cut its full-year outlook after both Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. lowered their forecasts within the past month.

All three companies cited large dips in new orders and jumps in cancellation rates in the second quarter on top of rising interest rates and larger inventories.

Pulte, which operates in 27 states, reported preliminary new orders dropped about 29 percent in April and May from last year to 6,447 units from 9,128 units.

Toll Brothers, a luxury homebuilder operating in 21 states, had a 29 percent second-quarter drop in signed contracts and Hovnanian, which builds mostly in the Northeast, California and the Washington, D.C., area, had about a 19 percent drop in net contracts.