Posted at 1 p.m., Monday, May 21, 2001

Dillingham to sell paving division

By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer

Dillingham Construction Pacific Ltd. says it expects to sell one of its divisions, Hawaiian Bitumuls Paving & Precast Inc., to Grace Pacific Corp.

The stock sale involving the two privately held companies is in the final stages of negotiations, officials said, and is scheduled to be final on July 3.

"Both sides are working diligently to get a final agreement," Dillingham Pacific President William J. Wilson said today. "We think the transaction is beneficial for both companies."

The price has not been disclosed.

The deal involves Dillingham's road-paving and road-construction division, and does not include its larger Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co., said Wilson, who also is president of Hawaiian Dredging.

The sale affects 142 of Dillingham's total of 678 employees, but Wilson said in a notice filed with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations that all of Hawaiian Bitumuls employees are expected to keep their jobs under the new owners.

He said company officials first informed Hawaiian Bitumuls workers of the sales negotiations two weeks ago as talks reached advanced stages.

Wilson said Dillingham has operated commercial contractor Hawaiian Dredging separately from Hawaiian Bitumuls, so the sale will have little effect on its better-known contractor.

Negotiations have been taking place during a busy time for Dillingham Pacific, as the company completed construction last week of the Kalia Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village. This week Hawaiian Dredging is expected to finish work on the Consolidated Ward 16 theater complex at Victoria Ward Center.

Dillingham Construction Pacific is based in Honolulu; parent Dillingham Construction has headquarters in Pleasanton, Calif.