Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC, said in an interview with CNBC this morning that the company is seeking to make acquistions in the U.S. home builder market within the next 12 months.
In an interview with CNBC's Erin Burnett in Dubai, Alabbar said the company remained bullish on the U.S. economy longer term and that the home building sector appeared attractive in that longer-term view. When asked how quickly the company intended to move, Ali Alabbar replied that it need not wait 12 months, saying it could move in four months or less.
Alabbar also said Emaar was interested in both private builders, perhaps a combination thereof, as well as the large public home building companies. Emaar entered the U.S. market in 2006 with the $1.05 billion purchase of John Laing Homes, the nation's second largest private home builder, based in Newport Beach, Calif.
