Parent Corp. to Spin Off Matson Unit

Alexander & Baldwin Inc., an ocean carrier and logistics and real estate firm based in Honolulu, plans to split into two separate, publicly traded companies.

The ocean transportation and logistics company will be known as Matson, but the real estate arm keeps the Alexander & Baldwin name.

Matson, which became a unit of A&B in 1969, serves container shippers on the U.S. West Coast and in Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia and China.

Under the terms of the breakup, Alexander & Baldwin shareholders will receive a share of both A&B and Matson stock for each share of stock they own in the parent company. The separation is slated to be completed in the 2012 second half.

Over the past decade, Matson has expanded beyond its core Hawaii and Guam container services to China, where it operates expedited service from Shanghai to Long Beach. A&B has modernized Matson’s fleet with four new container ships and also expanded the logistics side of the business.