Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Mac nut processor sues over merger
A second Big Island company has sued to stop the proposed merger between the state's top two macadamia nut processors, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. and MacFarms of Hawaii LLC.Competing macadamia processor Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co. filed an antitrust lawsuit to kill the deal last week, following a previous antitrust suit that was filed Aug. 13 by nut grower ML Macadamia Orchards LP.
Hamakua said it has expressed concerns about Mauna Loa's proposed acquisition of MacFarms to the state attorney general, Big Island lawmakers and County Council members.
Hamakua's suit alleges the proposed merger would give Mauna Loa monopoly power in the state.
TransAir launches charter flights
Hawaii air-cargo carrier TransAir has begun operating a chartered inter-island passenger service that it plans to grow into a full-fledged airline.TransAir founder and President Teimour Riahi said the company received federal approval earlier this month to begin carrying passengers aboard a 30-seat Bombardier propeller craft recently delivered to TransAir.
Riahi said the charter service, operating as Inter-Island Airways, targets group-travel passengers such as local school sports teams, as well as tourists and other passengers who want to be able to set their own course around the islands.
The service will fly to any airport in the state except the handful that are too small to accommodate the aircraft. Every flight will originate and end up in Honolulu.
Riahi believes the service could prove economical for some large groups. As an example, Riahi said a round-trip flight to Maui's main airport in Wailuku with an overnight stay would cost about $3,400. With the plane full, that comes to roughly $100 per head, about half the current cost for tickets aboard the main interisland carriers.
TransAir was founded in 1982 by Riahi, an Iranian native, and operates five Bombardier cargo planes providing service to all the major islands.
Eaton Square units hitting market
The Shidler Group said it will put its 30 office and retail condominiums at Eaton Square in Waikiki up for sale this Saturday.The units range in size from 150 square feet to more than 4,000, and the fee-simple prices will start at $38,000.
Shidler Group managing partner Larry Taff said existing tenants of the commercial complex will be given first option to purchase the units.
The complex on Hobron Lane houses such businesses as First Hawaiian Bank, Food Pantry and Max's Gym.
Sales will open to preferred buyers Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. A general open house will be held from noon to 5 p.m.
The Shidler Group purchased Eaton Square in 1996, but said in April that it wanted to sell the property to focus on larger properties it has acquired in a recent commercial property buying spree.
Last December, it bought the downtown Davies Pacific Center and the Pan Am Building on Kapiolani Boulevard for a combined $90 million. In July, it bought Waterfront Plaza for $71 million.
