Theo Davies intent to sell nearly all assets confirmed
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
The owner of Theo H. Davies & Co. Ltd. yesterday confirmed its intent to sell nearly all of its Hawai'i assets, including about 80 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants, six automobile dealerships and an industrial equipment distributor.
Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. said a long-term strategy to focus on core businesses in Asia is behind the move to sell the Theo Davies operations.
"While our Hawaiian businesses have been performing well and profitably, certain of the businesses no longer match the group's long-term strategy ..." said Anthony Nightingale, a Jardine director, in a statement. "They are sound businesses with excellent staff and I am sure that they all have good futures ahead of them."
Jardine spokesman Neil McNamara in Hong Kong said Jardine expects Theo Davies employees, which number more than 2,000, to be retained by prospective buyers.
Jardine said it expects to complete by the end of the year its previously reported sale of Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Land Rover dealerships in Honolulu plus two Honda dealerships on the Big Island. The dealerships are being bought by Las Vegas-based Fletcher Jones Motorcars Inc. and South Carolina dealer Gene Reed.
No sale price was disclosed, though The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., valued the auto business deal at about $100 million after interviewing Reed.
Reed and representatives of Fletcher Jones did not return phone calls yesterday.
Sale opportunities also are being pursued for Jardine's restaurants as well as its Caterpillar dealership and heavy equipment distributor Pacific Machinery, though no agreements have been reached, McNamara said.
"There's nothing imminent," he said, adding that discussions are ongoing for the sale of Pacific Machinery and about 50 Pizza Hut and 30 Taco Bell restaurants in Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan.
Jardine, which is the majority owner of the publicly owned Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, said it is not selling its stake in the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii hotel.
The Theo Davies name is expected to live on as Jardine said Fletcher Jones and Reed plan to continue operating the six automobile dealerships under the Theo Davies title.
But Jardine's planned sell-off of the automobile, food and industrial equipment operations likely will represent the final break up of what used to be one of the Big Five businesses that dominated Hawai'i's economy in the plantation era.
Theo Davies was established in 1884 by Theophilus Harris Davies, who acquired a Hawai'i trading company in 1868 and expanded in the sugar business. As the sugar industry declined, the company focused on automobiles, shipping, heavy equipment and food service.
Jardine, a British trading company, bought Theo Davies 1973. In 1996, Jardine sold TheoDavies Marine Agencies, Hawai'i's largest shipping agency for many years.
About three years ago, Jardine sold its Hawai'i Ferrari and Audi dealerships, followed a year later by the sale of its Volvo dealership.
Jardine is the biggest international Mercedes-Benz dealer and Pizza Hut franchisee, according to the company, which also has operations in construction, engineering, retail, insurance brokering, real estate and consumer marketing. Last year, Jardine reported $352 million in net profit on $7.4 billion in revenue.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
