Stone bids on Kaua'i resort
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Six years after local developer Jeff Stone and partners bought and kick-started development at Ko Olina resort on O'ahu, the real estate deal maker will attempt to repeat the act at Princeville Resort on Kaua'i.
Stone has reached an agreement to acquire the underperforming Hanalei resort community from three Japanese companies doing business as Princeville Corp.
Details were unavailable, but an announcement could be made as early as today, according to one person familiar with the deal. Stone could not be reached for comment earlier this week.
Princeville Corp. executive Michael Loo recently said he was not aware of any firm offers having been made or any under consideration by the owners. Loo, vice president of real estate and development, said that potential buyers of all or part of the company's assets have made regular visits in recent months to the Hanalei area, and that rumors of a sale have been "rampant."
People familiar with Stone's plan said he is working with Morgan Stanley to buy the resort, and may also involve Texas-based Centex Homes and Princeville hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts in the transaction.
If a purchase is completed as expected, it could spark more aggressive development of the 30-year-old resort on 1,000 acres.
Princeville was developed in the early 1970s by a subsidiary of Denver-based Consolidated Oil & Gas Co., which initially built a 27-hole golf course and sold home lots. A 250-room hotel was added more than a decade later. Another 18 holes of golf opened in 1990.
Consolidated spun off Princeville Corp. into a public company that was acquired in the late 1980s by Australian firm Qintex Ltd. In 1990, three giant Japan firms acquired Princeville Corp.
The liquor company Suntory has a 51 percent interest; the remaining 49 percent is owned by the banking company Nippon Shinpan and diversified trading company Mitsui.
The resort comprises a shopping center, hotel, golf courses and related facilities, and roughly 7,000 acres on Kaua'i's north shore. Numerous condominium projects and hundreds of single-family homes are privately owned within the larger resort.
Visitor industry analysts said that the Princeville resort has not performed as well as other tourism destinations, such as Po'ipu, also on Kaua'i, and that the owners have not been aggressive in developing the property.
Stone acquired the largely undeveloped Ko Olina resort with partners in 1998, and since has attracted development of hundreds of homes and a time-share complex. He has deals in the works to add an aquarium, more hotels, residential homes and time-share units.
Advertiser writer Jan TenBruggencate contributed to this report. Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
