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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, August 10, 2000

Home Depot starts building in Pearl City

Home Depot Inc. broke ground today for its second Oahu store, a 130,000-square-foot outlet in Pearl City, across from the Pearl Highlands Center/Sam's Club complex.

The store, which will include a garden center of 15,000 square feet, is scheduled to open next summer. Home Depot, an Atlanta-based chain of more than 1,000 stores, opened its first Hawaii outlet, of 145,000 square feet, in Iwilei in September. The company has also been considering a site at Hawaii Kai for a third local store.

Company seeks 3.6% stake in Dole

Dole Food Co. said a business called TRC Acquisition Corp. is making a "mini tender offer" for Dole stock, seeking up to 2 million shares, or 3.6 percent of the international fresh fruits and vegetables giant. Dole, based in Westlake Village, Calif., said it does not endorse the TRC offer of $14.55 a share.

While Dole said it would not advise its shareholders as to whether they should accept or reject the offer, the company said such offers for less than 5 percent of a company's stock are often structured to avoid public filings and "to obtain shares at below market prices from uninformed shareholders."

Dole stock rose 19 cents to close today at $14.31. Its shares are down nearly 12 percent this year

Dunkin' Donuts to open in isles

Honolulu entrepreneur Ken Iong has acquired a statewide franchise to bring Dunkin' Donuts shops back to Hawaii. Dunkin' Donuts came to Hawaii first in 1966 but by 1976 was down to one outlet in the Ala Moana Center, and that shop closed in 1995. Iong, whose IHC Group operates Sushi Chef and other food manufacturing and distributing businesses, said Hawaii's economy is now strong enough to reintroduce the brand. He said he plans to start before the end of the year with several outlets on Oahu, the first in Pearl City next to his company's Catch of the Day Sushi shop. The business will then spread to the neighbor islands, Iong said.

The franchise was awarded by Massachusetts-based Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants, which also holds the U.S. rights for the Baskin-Robbins ice cream franchises and Togo's sandwich shops.