Alexander & Baldwin Inc. said yesterday it has leased the majority of its recently acquired 1-million-square-foot industrial park in Savannah, Ga., to one of the country's leading toy manufacturers.

A&B said it has leased 711,000 square feet of the center, through its Matson Global Distribution Services subsidiary, to the company for use in its Southeast warehouse and distribution operations. A&B didn't name the company, but said it is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure entertainment products and services.

"The acquisition of the Savannah property extends our geographic reach to one of the busiest and fastest growing ports in the country, and the contract with a tier-one company, with extensive manufacturing facilities in China, extends our service reach deeper into customers' value and supply chains," said Allen Doane, A&B chairman and chief executive officer.

Matson Global was established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Matson Integrated Logistics, the 10th-largest logistics company in the United States and a subsidiary of Matson Navigation Co., to provide third-party logistics services that include warehousing, distribution, and freight forwarding throughout the United States and internationally, especially Asia.

The purchase of the Savannah Logistics Center represents the first real estate investment for Alexander & Baldwin east of the Mississippi and was completed using proceeds from recent and pending real estate sales, including various tax-deferred sources.

A&B completed the purchase of the center from the Oakmont Industrial Group on Feb. 26.

With the acquisition, the real estate portfolio of A&B's real estate subsidiary, A&B Properties, Inc., now has 7.6 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space in Hawai'i and eight Mainland states.

Alexander & Baldwin's shares closed up $1.80, or 3.7 percent, yesterday at $50.68 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.