Ashton Woods USA LLC ranks among the 25 largest U.S. homebuilders and the 10 largest private U.S. homebuilders with operations largely concentrated in the Southeast and Texas. We are assigning a 'B-' corporate credit rating to the company and a positive outlook. We are also assigning a 'B-' issue-level rating and a '3' recovery rating to the company's proposed $250 million senior unsecured notes. The positive outlook reflects our view that the housing recovery will continue and that the company is positioned to produce substantial sales growth from an increase in community count over the next few years, while maintaining a sufficient land supply and effectively managing working capital and liquidity. NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 28, 2013--Standard&
