Highridge Partners Buys French Builder for $25 Million

Highridge Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, said Monday that it has purchased one of the largest home builders in France for about $25 million.

Highridge said its acquisition of Paris-based Marignan Immobilier Investissements will give it a base to take advantage of the recovery in the French and European real estate markets.

“This year, the market has started to turn around,” said Eugene S. Rosenfeld, co-managing partner of Highridge. Marignan, for example, has returned to profitability this year after posting a loss in 1996, he said.

Rosenfeld said Highridge plans to expand Marignan’s operations and retain its management. Marignan builds about 1,400 homes a year and generates $250 million in annual revenue.

Rosenfeld is no stranger to the French market. As the former president of Los Angeles-based home builder Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., Rosenfeld was involved in the operation of Kaufman’s French home-building subsidiary.