National commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has bought back its independently owned Hawai'i affiliate nearly seven years after selling the unit to a group of employees.

CB Richard Ellis did not disclose a purchase price for CBRE Hawaii, which employs 111 people throughout offices in Honolulu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island.

The local company reported handling 440 lease and sale transactions valued at nearly $450 million last year, and manages almost 8 million square feet of commercial property.

Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis is a publicly traded company with sales and lease volume of more than $150 billion last year, and has a global management portfolio of more than 1 billion square feet.

CB Richard Ellis sold its Hawai'i operations in January 2000 as part of a strategy to eliminate corporate support unrelated to core business while maintaining access to the corporation's network and resources.

Yesterday, CB Richard Ellis said in a statement that its repurchase of the Hawai'i unit is part of a strategy of purchasing affiliate companies to extend its presence in key markets.

"We see significant growth opportunities in Hawai'i and the Pacific islands by more fully integrating the operation into our global platform, and we are particularly looking forward to aligning the local hospitality specialists with our burgeoning worldwide hotel practice," William Chillingworth, CB Richard Ellis western division president, said in a statement.

Joseph Haas, CBRE Hawai'i's senior managing director, will continue to lead the local CB Richard Ellis office.

The company's roots in Hawai'i go back to 1986, when Coldwell Banker Commercial established a local office. In 1989, employees and other investors acquired the business. In 1997, after a series of acquisitions, mergers and going public, the company then known as CB Commercial bought out employees' roughly 33 percent ownership stake.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.