Trust sale of land in Michigan planned

Advertiser Staff

Kamehameha Schools, Hawai'i's biggest private landowner, is planning to raise $150 million from the sale of Michigan timberland it acquired in 1994 from a failed venture.

The trust is soliciting proposals from investment banks and brokers to assist with the sale and expects to name an adviser by mid-August.

The land for sale, about 390,000 acres, is spread across 10 counties on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and provides timber for domestic suppliers and hunting and recreational areas for residents. Formerly owned by a mining company, the land includes several miles of shoreline along Lake Superior and more than 200 lakes.

"Based on our analysis of market conditions and Kamehameha's current asset allocation, management recommended this sale to the board of trustees and it was approved," said Kamehameha Schools Chief Executive Officer Hamilton McCubbin. "We will now move to have the property marketed through an investment banking firm and expect to conclude the sales process by early next year."

Kamehameha Schools had partnered with Benson Forests to develop a high-tech logging operation on the property using computers and satellite imagery to manage the timber harvests. The venture failed and when Benson abandoned the enterprise in 1994, the trust acquired the land.

Kamehameha Schools was created in 1884 through the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a descendant of King Kamehameha, to educate children of Hawaiian ancestry. The estate is one of the largest private trusts in the country with $4 billion in assets.

A spokesman for Kamehameha Schools said the estate is trying to reduce its exposure to Mainland real estate and large, single investments.