Updated at 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 25, 2007
Major shareholder cuts stake in Barnwell Industries
Advertiser Staff
Mercury Real Estate Advisors LLC, a Greenwich , Conn.-investor that was pushing to have Barnwell Industries Inc. sell off Big Island land, has cut its ownership stake in the Honolulu-based company significantly in share sales this week.Mercury, which was Barnwell's largest shareholder, sold 620,000 shares on Wednesday for about $12.1 million, according to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The investor pared its holdings in Barnwell, which is involved in oil and gas exploration as well as being involved in the Kaupulehu development on the Big Island.
In November Mercury had sent a letter to Barnwell saying the company needed to sell off some of its assets to realize gains and buy back shares of its stock. Mercury has trimmed its holdings in Barnwell to about 778,500 shares in the recent sale.
