Home builder fights rumors of sale

WCI Communities Inc. got a nice 30 percent bump in its stock on Monday on word this weekend that the company was going to be acquired for $5.25 per share.

The only problem: The report of a sale was false.

In a terse one-paragraph statement on Monday, WCI -- the builder of Tidewater Preserve and Waterlefe in Manatee County and the Venetian Golf & River Club in Venice -- said that "the media outlet stories that have reported that WCI has received a buyout offer are false in all regards. No press release was issued by the company regarding a buyout of the company."

Apparently, the release was faxed to media outlets during the weekend. It named company officials. It claimed that a bid from an unnamed buyer offering to pay the $5.25 per share. That would have been a premium of approaching 300 percent.

The company's shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, were still up 2 cents, or about 1.5 percent, by the close of regular trading, at $1.39.

The false word of a sale came on the heels of WCI's decision to dissolve a special committee that was evaluating restructuring proposals.

Shortly after announcing the formation of the committee in June, well-known investor Carl Icahn, who is WCI's chairman, had said he was in talks with the company about a possible transaction. Icahn -- who just secured a seat on Yahoo Inc.'s board of directors after tussling with the company over a proposed sale to Microsoft -- controls 15 percent of WCI's shares.

Analysts have worried about WCI's ability to pay its debt obligations. The company lost $84.1 million, or $2 per share, in the first quarter on revenue of $137.1 million.