MBK Sells Construction Division
Irvine real estate developer MBK Real Estate Ltd. sold its commercial construction division to a Florida builder for an undisclosed sum, the companies said Wednesday.
The division will operate as Haskell Constructors Ltd., a subsidiary of Haskell Co. in Jacksonville. The division employs 80 people, all of whom are expected to be retained by Haskell.
Haskell will take over $150 million in construction contracts, including MBK’s share of the stalled $500-million Pointe Anaheim hotel and entertainment complex across Harbor Boulevard from Disneyland.
“All contracts on the way will be completed by Haskell,” said Lamar Nash, a vice president at Haskell, a large developer of commercial properties in the United States and Latin America.
Work on Pointe Anaheim was expected to begin in August, but the developer has sought a one-year extension so it can secure financing and purchase a remaining parcel.
By acquiring the division, known as MBK Construction Ltd., Haskell can establish an immediate presence in California, Nash said. The MBK division has built $750 million worth of property in 18 states over the past five years.
The deal completes MBK’s plan to sell portions of its real estate business to focus on home and retail development in Southern California. In December, it sold its senior housing division for more than $100 million.
MBK, the land development arm of Mitsui & Co. Ltd. in Japan, plans to complete about 300 Southern California homes this year and intends to double its pace by 2002 to 600 homes a year.
During the same time, the company also expects to launch up to $450 million worth of new retail projects, mostly in California, said Dale Kemp, MBK’s chief financial officer.
