Catalfumo Acquisition Creates $300M Company

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL-Locally based Catalfumo Construction and Development Inc. has acquired Seawood Builders of Broward County, creating a $300-million South Florida construction and development company.Since Seawood Builders’ annual contracts top $100 million, the acquisition raises Catalfumo’s $200 million-a-year contract volume by 50%. In addition, the acquisition increases the company’s employees by almost one-third to about 350–80 Seawood employees and 270 Catalfumo employees–in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.Under the agreement, Seawood Builders will keep its name and its Deerfield Beach headquarters, and will be a division of Catalfumo, which provides construction, development, management and construction/development consulting services. Dan Catalfumo will continue as president and CEO of the company. Ed Masi, CEO of Seawood, and Steve Fisher, formerly of Fisher-Clark–which Catalfumo acquired in 2001–will be executive vice presidents of Catalfumo. Betty Masi, chief financial officer and a partner of Seawood, will take on the role of vice president of Catalfumo.The deal also expands the company’s overall capacity, management depth, expertise and resources. The company’s geographic reach and complementary services also will be expanded.This is the second major expansion to achieve greater financial strength, more employees and broader community commitment in the South Florida market, according to a Catalfumo spokesperson.”Ed (Masi), Steve (Fisher) and I all share the same commitment to quality and passion for the business. We are like triplets–with the same goals, desires and way of thinking. This is really more of an alliance than an acquisition,” says Dan Catalfumo.Founded in 1978, Catalfumo has more than 30 million sf of commercial real estate. Some of the company’s signature projects have included Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa in Jupiter, the largest spa built for Ritz-Carlton; Marriott Ocean Pointe, five oceanfront towers of timeshares in Palm Beach Shore; Vista Center, the Palm Beach County headquarters, in West Palm Beach; WPTV-NBC Scripps Howard in West Palm Beach; and Office Depot’s headquarters in Delray Beach.Seawood Builders was established in 1979. Some of the company’s signature South Florida projects Bridgeside Place, an 886,000-sf mixed use apartment building in Fort Lauderdale; Washington Mutual (formerly MBNA) in Boca Raton, which was completed in 145 days; and Sunbeam Corp.’s headquarters in Boca Raton. Other projects include the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, a spa, parking structures, golf club house and many restaurants; Spa Atlantis, a 10-story hotel/condominium complex in Pompano Beach; and Palmetto Place Apartments, a 1.3-million-sf mixed-use/condominium with 246 units in Boca Raton.