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N.Y. investment bank
purchasing Maui resort

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By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin

A major New York investment bank has agreed to buy Maui's largest hotel, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, from the resort's Japan-based owners, according to a real estate industry newsletter.

Blackstone Group, a closely held private merchant bank, is negotiating with the hotel's owner KM Hawaii Inc., according to newsletter Real Estate Alert.

A Blackstone spokesman would not comment on the report.

The sales price for the resort is $200,000, sources said.

Blackstone, founded in 1985 by Chairman Peter Peterson and President Stephen Schwarzman, owns London's Savoy hotel group and has a stake in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Last month, the firm announced plans to raise $4.5 billion to invest in property in Europe and make leveraged buyouts.

KM Hawaii, a unit of Japan-based Kokusai Jidosha, bought the property from VMS Realty for $325 million in 1987, according to state records.

The company completed a $12 million renovation in November 1990.

Located on Kaanapali Beach, the 806-room Hyatt Regency Maui opened in 1980 and employs about 1,000 people.

The resort is managed by Hyatt Hotels Corp. and posts room rates ranging from $295 to $900 per night.