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Pulte Homes (PHM) agreement to buy rival Centex Corp. (CTX) for about $1.3 billion in stock seems more like a one-off than a sign of things to come.

The bold move creates an industry titan with a market capitalization of $4.1 billion, knocking rivals DR Horton (DHI) and Lennar Corp. (LEN) off their perch. Analysts say the deal, which stunned the battered industry before the market opened Wednesday, won't jumpstart mergers and acquisitions, which have essentially stalled as the worst downturn in decades drags on.

More deals would make sense. Builders have watched profits and their market caps crumble along with the market. The sector has slashed prices, offered more incentives and walked away from land, forcing charges of nearly $30 billion since early 2006, according to Moody's Investors Service. And, while there have been glimmers of hope that the nation's housing market is nearing bottom, builders face intense difficult competing with a swelling count of bargain-priced foreclosures.

With the lessons of gorging of overpriced land during the boom learned, builders seemed more likely to pick up cheap land from the burned lenders. Indeed, most builders are hoarding cash, waiting to pounce as distressed lots hit the market.

"All of the builders are licking their chops, waiting for the opportunity to buy land for pennies on the dollar that will fuel their growth for the next cycle," said Rob Stevenson, an analyst with Fox-Pitt Kelton.

That's what made Wednesday's announcement so stunning.

"How aggressive are they going to be with buying land?" Stevenson asked, adding they're currently sitting on roughly 190,000 controlled lots, a steep supply given current conditions.

Still, the deal combines two of the industry's strongest names, giving the combined company top-three positions in 25 of the nation's top 50 markets. The combined powerhouse will better tap home buying segments from first-timers, considered the best source of business right now, to active adult. And it will have plenty of cash to wait out the downturn - approximately $3.4 billion as of March. 31.

Competitors might be thinking of joining forces to remain competitive.

But this transaction is "the easiest deal that could happen," said Vicki Bryan, an analyst with Gimme Credit. "The other guys will have a lot more hair on their deal. They have serious issues with meeting covenants and they will have even more trouble as the market deteriorates over this year, and they all have to last another year."

Credit Suisse analyst Dan Oppenheim agreed, writing in an analyst note that similar transactions are less likely. "We see few other companies trading at a discount and being a willing seller at this time. Lower quality balance sheet companies [Beazer (BZH), Hovnanian (HOV), M/I Homes (MHO), Meritage (MTH)] also have change in control provisions that would make a transaction much more difficult."

Bryan said that was a big factor: "Clever Pulte brought one of the few builders with no change of control provisions in its bonds, so it doesn't have to take out Centex's debt, which made this possible."

-By Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5248; dawn.wotapka@dowjones.com