A&B, Canadian firm in $135M land deal

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Major Hawai'i landowner Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has partnered with a Canadian firm to buy five golf courses and other properties on Maui and Kaua'i from Japan-based Shinwa Golf Group for $135 million.

The deal, which is subject to price adjustment but is expected to be completed in early October, is part of a two-package asset sale by Shinwa, which is negotiating to sell the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort hotel to Starwood Hotels & Resorts for an undisclosed price.

A&B said it has agreed to acquire three golf courses and 270 acres of undeveloped land at Wailea Resort on Maui, and two golf courses and an undeveloped hotel site at Kauai Lagoons Golf Club.

The Honolulu-based diversified real estate, ocean transportation and agriculture company partnered with an affiliate of Vancouver-based GolfBC Group, which owns eight championship golf courses in British Columbia.

Caleb Chan, a real estate developer who heads GolfBC, said he has a long-term commitment to Wailea, where he regularly visits and previously owned a home.

"We look forward with great pleasure to working with the fine people, and world-class facilities, at the Wailea and Kaua'i golf courses, and to realizing together the benefits that will come with combining our experience and shared passion for golf," Chan said in a statement.

Allen Doane, A&B's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that A&B's strong presence, local development expertise and resources on Maui make the acquisition a good strategic fit.

The properties "present excellent near- and long-term opportunities," Doane said, without elaborating on possible plans for the undeveloped Shinwa sites.

A&B is familiar with the property, as it sold the land under and around the Wailea hotel and two golf courses to Shinwa in 1989 for $197.5 million.

Shinwa later acquired the hotel, two Kaua'i golf courses, and built a third course and clubhouse at Wailea. In all, the company spent between $800 million and $900 million investing in Hawai'i.

About three years ago, the Resolution and Collection Corp., a Japanese government agency in charge of reducing delinquent loans, seized Shinwa's loans from a collapsed financial institution in Japan and last year arranged for Shinwa to sell its Hawai'i assets to help reduce roughly $600 million in debts.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.