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Investment
firm buys Mauna
Loa company

Former owner C. Brewer
says the sale will not affect
employees, most of
whom work in Hawaii

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Star-Bulletin staff

C. Brewer & Co., seeking more cash for its private investors, sold its entire macadamia nut division to a San Francisco-based private equity partnership.

The Shansby Group, which had previous investments in the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Co., bought the stock of Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. for an undisclosed price, Brewer announced yesterday.

The sale includes production plants on 100 acres on the Big Island, 4 million pounds of nuts and several sales offices stretching from Hong Kong to Tampa, Fla.

J.W.A. "Doc" Buyers, chairman and chief executive of Brewer, said he will step down as chief executive of Mauna Loa to become its chairman emeritus.

Scott Wallace, who became president and chief operating officer of Mauna Loa in 1998, is assuming the role of chief executive.

Wallace said the sale will not affect the company's 300 permanent employees, most of whom work in Hawaii.

He also did not expect a shake-up in leadership, since Shansby is more of an investment group than a hands-on management company.

Shansby and Brewer had been talking about a sale for about three months, Wallace said.

Last year, Brewer's board of directors approved a plan to sell most or all of the company's food business, and retained international investment firm ING Barings LLC to help the process.

Brewer, one of Hawaii's oldest companies, bought Mauna Loa in 1974 from another Big 5 landowner, Castle & Cooke. Buyers purchased Brewer in 1986 in a $200 million leveraged buyout.

Shansby officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

Under new ownership, the macadamia nut company plans to expand into other confectionary products, such as ice cream or cookies. Mauna Loa is a powerful brand, Wallace said.

"It doesn't mean just macadamia nuts to consumers; it means 'tropical,' " he said.

Shansby may purchase other food businesses to build a premium products company based around Mauna Loa, Wallace said.

The company will also manage costs more aggressively by getting more selective about the macadamia nuts it buys from local orchards, Wallace said.

Mauna Loa does not grow its own nuts. It is primarily a processing, manufacturing and distribution company that generates about $95 million in annual revenues.