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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:58 p.m., Monday, March 12, 2007

Maui Land sells $15M of shares in private placement

Advertiser Staff

EBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar and former America Online executive Miles Gilburne are among investors who bought $15 million of Maui Land & Pineapple Co. stock in a private placement sale.

The company said it sold 517,242 shares at a price of $29 each to Ohana Holdings LLC, which is controlled by Omidyar, and ZG Ventures LLC. Gilburne, formerly senior vice president of corporate development at America Online, serves as managing member of ZG Ventures.

"Maui Land & Pineapple is a transformative company, emphasizing long-term planning and local self-reliance," said Omidyar in a news release.

Omidyar in 1995 worked over the Labor Day weekend to create eBay, which has become the world's largest Internet marketplace. He no longer has a day-to-day role in the company and his wealth, largely made up of stock holdings in the San Jose, California-based company, is estimated at $8.8 billion by Forbes magazine.

"I value their sound leadership and business practices, as well as their ethic of stewardship toward local communities."

Kahului-based Maui Land & Pine said it will receive about $14.9 million from the sale after payment of expenses. Maui Land & Pine's biggest shareholder is former AOL chief executive Stephen Case.