Oracle’s Ellison to Buy Most of Hawaiian Island, Governor Says
HONOLULU (AP) — Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has reached a deal to buy 98 percent of the island of Lanai from its current owner, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Wednesday.
The land’s owner, Castle & Cooke Inc., filed a transfer application with the state’s public utilities commission, which regulates utilities on the island that serve its two resorts.
The sale price for the property, which comprises the vast majority of the island’s 141 square miles, was not immediately clear. Lawyers for the seller redacted a copy of the sale agreement signed May 2, saying it includes confidential information that would competitively hurt Ellison and the seller if disclosed. The Maui News previously reported the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million.
Self-made billionaire David Murdock, who owns Castle & Cooke, said he would keep his home on Lanai and the right to build a wind farm, a controversial project that would place windmills on as many as 20 square miles of the island and deliver power to Oahu through an undersea cable.
Murdock said in a statement that selling Lanai was not an impulsive decision, but he has been looking for a buyer who would have the right enthusiasm, commitment and respect for the island’s residents.
Now that is a purchase I wish I could have made.