BUSINESS BRIEFS
MacFarms sold for $5.7 million
Advertiser Staff and News Services
An Australian company is buying MacFarms of Hawaii LLC for less than half the proposed purchase that fell through last year.
Buderim Ginger Ltd. is taking over the state's second-biggest macadamia nut processor with a $5.7 million deal. Last year, ML Macadamia Orchards of Hilo was offering just more than $13 million for rival MacFarms.
This will be Buderim's first U.S. macadamia nut operation. In Australia, the company bought Australia's third-largest producer of macadamia nuts.
Officials say the Hawai'i purchase could make Buderim the largest macadamia nut producer in the world.
GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR LAND PROTECTION
A state Department of Land and Natural Resources program is seeking grant applications from nonprofits and state and county agencies to acquire and protect private Hawai'i land.
The Legacy Land Conservation Program expects to award up to $4.7 million through a competitive process to projects that acquire property or conservation easements for protecting open space, watersheds, beaches, cultural sites and other "valuable resource" lands.
Applicants must secure matching funds from elsewhere equivalent to at least 25 percent of total project costs, and the state gets back a share proportional to its grant if land bought under the program is ever resold.
Grant applications and more information are available online at www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/llcp. The application deadline is Sept. 15.
TESORO'S OUTLOOK RATED NEGATIVE
Tesoro Corp.'s outlook has been revised to negative by Fitch Ratings, given concern about the company's ability to meet its capital improvements budget because of poor conditions in the industry.
Tesoro, which operates seven refineries including the largest in Hawai'i, has faced falling demand for gasoline because of high prices.
ZORNER TO HEAD HAWAI'I BIOENERGY
Hawai'i BioEnergy LLC said Paul S. Zorner has been named president and chief executive officer of the renewable energy company.
Zorner brings more than two decades of experience in renewable fuels research and development, the company said in a news release yesterday.
Zorner most recently served as chief scientific officer, founder and executive director of PEL, a venture focused on the establishment of green energy in Mozambique based upon sugar cane conversion to ethanol.
He also is a venture partner with San Diego-based Finistere Ventures and a member of the board of directors for Kuehnle AgroSystems in Hawai'i.
Hawai'i BioEnergy was formed in 2006 by three of Hawai'i's largest landowners — Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Kamehameha Schools and Grove Farm — to identify and develop new sources of renewable energy for Hawai'i.
STONE RETAILER OPENS HILO OUTLET
Stone products retailer Bella Pietra has opened a new showroom and warehouse in Hilo.
The 9,000-square-foot facility, which opened earlier this month carrying a variety of natural stone from marble to lava rock, is the fourth outlet in Hawai'i for the Honolulu-based company established in 2001.
