The Trinity affiliate, Kahala Hotel Investors LLC, is buying O'ahu's only AAA 5-Diamond resort from Kahala Royal Corp., a company owned by Japanese businessman Katsumi Iida, Ruth Ann Becker, a spokeswoman for Iida's company, confirmed.

A price was not disclosed, but is estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million, or more, according to local real-estate experts.

Iida's company in June acquired sole ownership of the 364-room property after paying $97 million to a unit of Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for its 40 percent stake in the hotel on land leased from Kamehameha Schools.

Trinity is an investment group founded by former Amfac Hotels chief Charles Sweeney, attorney Jon Miho and another hotel investor, George Ruff.

Both the Kea Lani and Aloha Tower deals were investments in distressed assets by Trinity. Iida had been expected to sell the Kahala Mandarin because of personal troubles in Japan.

Iida was president of Fukuoka-based commodity futures trading firm Tokyo General Corp., which failed last year. His investments in other businesses, including Hawai'i hotels, has been cited in Japan press accounts as playing a part in Tokyo General's failure, which led to creditor claims and government allegations that the company faked financial statements.

Kahala Royal, however, is solvent and not a party to Iida's bankruptcy-like proceedings in Japan, even though Iida is the Hawai'i company's sole shareholder.

Iida originally bought the hotel with local developer Bill Mills in 1993 for about $54 million. Iida and Mills in 1995 made Mandarin Oriental a 40 percent partner to pay for about $40 million of a $75 million renovation that was completed in 1996. Mills no longer has a stake in the hotel.