Sunday, February 14, 2016

Philip Morris and Donald Bren give birth to a community


Dig the shitty Beatles covers
     [Donald] Bren built his first house in Newport Beach with a $10,000 loan, in 1958. He began his business career in 1958 when he founded the Bren Company, which built homes in Orange County, California. In 1963, he and two others started the Mission Viejo Company (MVC) and purchased 10,000 acres to plan and develop the city of Mission Viejo, California. Bren was President of MVC from 1963 to 1967. International Paper bought Bren Co. for $34 million in 1970, and then sold it back to Bren for $22 million in 1972 following the recession. Bren took the proceeds and in 1977 joined a group of investors to purchase the 146-year-old Irvine Company. Bren was the largest shareholder of the resulting consortium, owning 34.3% of the company and received the title of Vice-chair of the board. By 1983, he was the majority owner of the firm and was elected chairman of the board. By 1996, he had bought out all outstanding shares to become the sole owner. –From Donald Bren entry in Wikipedia
     MISSION VIEJO — One of Orange County's pioneer developers of planned communities, the Mission Viejo Co., will be sold to J.F. Shea Co., an expanding Southern California building firm, it was announced Friday.
     The deal is expected to fetch more than $400 million, although terms were not disclosed by Philip Morris Cos. Inc., which has owned the Mission Viejo Co. since 1972.
. . .
     The Mission Viejo Co. was founded in 1963 by a partnership of billionaire real estate developer Donald L. Bren and South County landowners the O'Neill family.
     Bren later sold his interest and bought the Irvine Co. Philip Morris made its initial investment in the real estate developer in 1969 and purchased the company outright in 1972 for $52 million. –From LA Times, “Philip Morris Agrees to Sell Mission Viejo Co.”

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...