Monday, July 30, 2007

DENVER-BASED REAL ESTATE PRIVATE EQUITY GROUP TO PURCHASE LEADING MANUFACTURED HOUSING PORTFOLIO

Agreement reached with the nation's number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes

DENVER (July 30, 2007) – Today, BaseCamp Capital LLC, a Denver-based private equity incubator specializing in real estate ventures, announced that it has entered into a contract to purchase the community assets of CMH Parks, Inc. of Maryville, Tenn. CMH Parks, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clayton Homes. BaseCamp will partner with Stockbridge Real Estate Funds of San Francisco on the transaction.

The portfolio consists of 65 manufactured housing communities in 11 states throughout the country. It is BaseCamp's intention to continue operations of the more than 18,000 individual home sites. The BaseCamp management team has more than 100 years of combined experience operating similar portfolios, including that of Chateau Communities of Denver.

"We have known and worked with BaseCamp's principals for 20 years," says Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes. "Our companies share the belief that communities thrive on the strength of relationships. Given this group's reputation in the industry, we know our residents and team members will be greatly valued."

According to Gary McDaniel, senior managing director of BaseCamp Capital, the company sees “this portfolio as a solid foundation to provide a truly affordable housing solution to the communities in which they are situated." BaseCamp is committed to growing and strengthening these communities for the benefit of current and future residents.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the principals of BaseCamp Capital,” said Terry Fancher, executive managing director of Stockbridge. “Their management team represents the ‘best in class’ in the manufactured home community industry and we believe that their broad experience will be a critical element to the success of this transaction."

No further details of the transaction have been released.

About BaseCamp Capital
BaseCamp Capital LLC (www.basecampcapital.com) is a Denver-based real estate private equity group focused on specialty real estate transactions. The company has been operating since 2004, and has a strong focus on the manufactured housing sector. The firm is headed by several former principles of Chateau Communities, a Denver-based manufactured housing REIT which operated in excess of 200 communities nationwide.

About Clayton Homes
Clayton Homes and its subsidiaries (www.clayton.net) make up a vertically integrated manufactured housing company with 41 manufacturing plants, distributing through 451 company-owned retail outlets, and more than 1200 independent retailers and owns and operates 13 subdivisions. Clayton and its subsidiaries also provide specialty financing and insurance products.

About Stockbridge Real Estate Funds
Stockbridge Real Estate Funds are a series of real estate partnerships capitalized primarily by public and private pension funds. Stockbridge is managed by Stockbridge Capital Group, LLC, a real estate investment firm with extensive experience in real estate acquisitions, development and management. Since 1994, the senior professionals of Stockbridge Capital Group have invested in more than $8.5 billion of real estate in a variety of property types. Stockbridge is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Los Angeles and New York.