The Ryland Group, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Charlotte and Raleigh. N.C. operations and assets of Timberstone Homes, which will provide the Westlake Village homebuilder 870 new lots and homes for future sales. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close within 10 days. Earlier this year, Ryland also purchased significant land assets from Westport Homes in Indianapolis, providing Ryland with an additional 504 lots for future delivery. Ryland expects to offer Timberstone’s current workforce the chance to continue to work for the company’s Charlotte and Raleigh operations. Timberstone ranked as the 9th largest builder in Charlotte in 2011. Of the 870 lots and homes that come with the deal, 154 homes are currently sold and under construction. “We are pleased to announce this acquisition, in addition to our earlier purchase of the Indianapolis assets, which is consistent with our strategy of building on our existing market experience, while at the same time, leveraging the talent from another highly reputable homebuilder,” Larry Nicholson, Ryland’s CEO and president, said in a prepared statement. Rayland said it will honor all Timberstone customer service and warranty obligations under a contractual relationship between the two companies. Judy Temes