LandSource Communities Development LLC, a large California land and development company, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the next two to three weeks, a Standard & Poor’s publication reported on Tuesday, attributing the information to unnamed lenders reports Reuters.

S&P’s Leveraged Commentary & Data reported on its Web site, www.lcdcomps.com,  that the company’s cash had declined to about $25 million from about $115 million in early February. An article on the Web site, citing unnamed sources, said a bankruptcy filing would help preserve cash and start a process to sell assets.

LandSource spokeswoman Tamara Taylor said the company had received an official notice of default on a $1 billion loan, but that the default situation “had not accelerated” further. She declined to comment on whether the company was close to filing for bankruptcy protection.

LandSource is a joint venture between home builder Lennar Corp, LNR Property Corp, which each have a 16 percent stake and MW Housing Partners, which holds a 68 percent stake.

MW Housing Partners, is co-managed by a Weyerhaeuser Co subsidiary and McFarlane Partners on behalf of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the biggest U.S. pension fund. LNR Property Corp, a one-time spin off of Lennar, was taken private by Cerberus Capital Management [CBS.UL] and others in early 2005.

LandSource’s primary investment is The Newhall Land and Farming Company, which owns 15,000 acres of land north of Los Angeles.

Read it here: LandSource bankruptcy filing seen in weeks