Shares of William Lyon Homes tumbled 5.8% in morning trade Thursday, after filings showed that the homebuilder’s second-largest shareholder, billionaire investor John Paulson’s hedge fund Paulson & Co., was selling off its entire holding of Class A shares. William Lyon filed late Wednesday to say Paulson planned to offer 3,322,666 shares for sale. Early Thursday, the company said the offering had priced, and that it was expected to close on our about Sept. 18. On Oct. 12, 2012, Paulson & Co. was issued 15.24 million Class A shares for $16.0 million, or at $1.05 a share. A May 2013 share offering, priced at $25 a share, left Paulson with about 3.3 million Class A shares, filings show. The stock closed Wednesday at $24.79. So, did Paulson & Co. pocket a total of over $440 million dollars on a $16 million investment made about 5 years ago? The hedge fund declined to comment. William Lyon’s stock has now gained 2.0% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilder ETF has slipped 0.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.4%.
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