A Kaua'i estate owned by entertainment executive Peter Guber has been sold for $28 million in the state's biggest residential property transaction this year.

Guber's Tara Plantation, a property of about 174 acres that includes a roughly 15,000 square-foot house and two 4,000 square-foot guest bungalows, sold earlier this month after at least four years on the market.

Guber had initially listed the property for $46.5 million, but more recently lowered the price to $39.5 million through Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty.

Guber's Mandalay Properties Hawaii LLC had bought the oceanfront site on Papa'a Bay on Kaua'i's northeast coast in 1998 for about $7 million.

He built the residences in 1999 and 2000, including a main house with six bedrooms, 8 1/2 baths, a yoga studio and his-and-hers living rooms. There's also a caretaker's house and stables, a spring-fed pool and sand beach.

"It's a magnificent place," said Ricky Cassiday, a local real estate consultant, saying the property is situated on a bay in such a way that its sandy beach is both safe from large swells and affords privacy.

"This is a great hideout. It has all the elements."

Cassiday said the sale price was almost double the previous highest-priced transaction this year, a residential property at the Hualälai Resort on the Big Island that sold for $14.7 mil-lion.

Guber is a Los Angeles movie and entertainment executive who is chairman and chief executive officer of Mandalay Entertainment Group.

His movie production credits include "Batman," "The Color Purple" and "Rain Man."

Guber also is a full professor at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, and co-host of the weekly "Shootout" television show on the AMC network.

Little information was available on the buyers of the property, which include two limited liability companies, Papaa Bay Ranch LLC and Kauai Beach Properties LLC.

Both firms were registered in September by Hannah Sirois, the principal broker of Kauai Heritage Properties who represented the buyers in the purchase of Tara Plantation.

State records show both firms list Kauai Ae Kai LLC as their sole member. That's a Pennsylvania firm that has a certified public accountant's office as its address.

Guber was represented in the transaction by Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty's Barbara Sloan and Malia Powers.