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Maui resort being
sold, report says

KM Hawaii has owned the
Hyatt Regency Maui since 1987

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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.

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 40-acre 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 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 a night.