C. Michael Kojaian, chairman of Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co. and its largest individual shareholder, has stepped down from the board of the struggling commercial real estate company.
Kojaian told the company he was resigning as a director to attend to his other real estate businesses, and to avoid any conflicts of interest between those businesses and Grubb & Ellis, according to regulatory filings.
A Michigan native, Kojaian owns real estate and several real-estate related businesses in addition to his holdings in Grubb & Ellis, where he first joined the board in 2002 after his buying a large stake in the company in 1996.
As of last year, Kojaian and his affiliates owned about 30% of Grubb’s outstanding common stock, factoring in the company’s preferred convertible stock.
The value of those shares plummeted during the commercial real estate downturn, and amid recent uncertainty about the company’s long-term future.
Grubb & Ellis has been exploring financing deals and a potential sale or merger since last March.
Grubb & Ellis now counts a market value of less than $5 million.
