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Red Bank”s Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) said Thursday it has acquired the assets of Windward Homes of Tampa, Florida, marking the homebuilder”s entry into the Tampa marketplace and expanding its operations in the southeast. Financial terms of the cash-and-stock deal weren”t disclosed.Windward Homes designs, constructs, markets and sells new homes for first-time and move-up homebuyers throughout the Tampa metropolitan area. Prices range from $100,000 to more than $400,000. In a press release, Hovnanian said Windward is projected to deliver more than 700 homes with an average selling price of approximately $150,000 this year. As of August 31, Windward controlled more than 2,900 lots throughout the greater Tampa area.With the addition of Windward”s operations, Hovnanian will become the fifth largest homebuilder in Tampa.Hovnanian said David Nader and Chad Horne, who founded Windward Homes in 1995, will remain with Hovnanian following the acquisition. It also noted that in conjunction with the transaction it issued 244,618 shares of Class A common stock, which it said will have a “minimal” impact on its debt-to-capitalization ratio. No goodwill is anticipated as part of this transaction.Hovnanian currently operates on the East Coast and in California and Phoenix. It delivered 9,514 homes with an average sales price of $258,787 during fiscal 2002. At October 31, the company had more than $130 million of excess cash and no balance outstanding under its $590 million unsecured revolving credit agreement. At the close of trading, Hovnanian shares were up $0.43 to $85.81.