Ko Olina Company, LLC in Partnership With Mass MutualAgrees to Purchase Ihilani Resort & Spa and...

KO OLINA, Hawaii--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1999--

Ko Olina Company, LLC, a Hawaii-based company and owners of Ko Olina Resort & Marina, today announced that they have formed a partnership, with Mass Mutual, one of the world's largest insurance companies, to purchase the Ihilani Resort & Spa from Japan Airlines, the current owner.

In a separate transaction, Ko Olina Company, LLC will purchase the Ko Olina Golf Club from JAL. No price for the transaction was disclosed.

With this acquisition partnership, Mass Mutual, with assets of over $200 billion, will make an investment in Hawaii through its subsidiary, Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. Cornerstone manages a $3 billion real estate portfolio that includes hotel, office, multi-family, retail and industrial properties.

As part of the plans for the overall resort, Ko Olina Company and Mass Mutual have chosen Marriott International as the flag to manage the 387-room luxury hotel and spa. Management turnover to Marriott is expected in mid-November. "This new synergy has a successful track record," said Jeff Stone, co-manager of Ko Olina Resort. "The combined Marriott operation of Ihilani and a future oceanfront timeshare vacation club at Ko Olina creates a synergistic model that has been perfected in other Marriott premier resorts throughout the world."

Last week, Ko Olina Resort & Marina broke ground for a 43-acre, 270-slip private marina development, a general store and fuel station. The marina is set to open in February 2000. The groundbreaking announced the first of several new waves of activity coming ashore at Hawaii's largest and most luxurious resort development.

Ko Olina Resort & Marina is a master-planned, gated development on the western shore of Hawaii's principal island. In addition to the award-winning Ihilani Resort & Spa and 18-hole Ted Robinson-designed Ko Olina Golf Club, the resort is home to Paradise Cove cultural park, a string of jewel-like lagoons connected by 1.5 miles of seaside pathways, the new and popular full-service Ko Olina Wedding Chapel and the Fairways at Ko Olina Resort, a golf course residential community.