A company led by a billion-dollar hedge fund manager who is also an environmental philanthropist has bought most of the 4,500-acre Hana Ranch with plans to diversify the Maui cattle operation into fruit and vegetable farming.

Hana Ranch Stewards LLC, a firm managed by Jeremy Grantham, bought 3,600 acres, comprising most of the ranch, recently for $4.75 million from a partnership that included a trust benefiting a San Francisco billionaire.

Grantham co-founded Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC, a Boston-based investment firm that managed $112 billion in assets as of last September, and The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.

Hana Ranch Stewards partnered with Bio-Logical Capital, a Denver-based investment and development firm focused on "stewardship development" for profit, to manage the ranch.

Bio-Logical Capital said in 2012 that it was working on buying the Maui ranch, and it announced the completion of the deal Thursday.

The new leadership plans to transform Hana Ranch into "one of the premier sustainable farms in the state" that creates new economic opportunities with diversified farming and continued cattle ranching.

"We are proud and humbled to become the new stewards of Hana Ranch," Grant McCargo, founder and CEO of Bio-Logical Capital, said in a statement. "To maintain Hana’s natural beauty, continue Hana’s legacy as a productive ranch, and be part of a vibrant community centered on healthy food, clean water, and a thriving environment is truly a blessing."

Bio-Logical Capital said that it has offered positions to all on-site workers of the ranch, which employs 14, and plans to increase employment as the expansion plan is implemented.

Hana Ranch is one of Hawaii’s relatively younger cattle ranches. It was established in 1944 on 14,000 acres by Paul Fagan, who also established an inn on the property that would later become the Hotel Hana-Maui.

The ranch over time has passed through a number of different owners, and major portions of the property, including the hotel site, were sold off.

The latest sale to Hana Ranch Stewards excluded some ranch lands including parcels makai of Hana Highway that stretch nearly two miles fronting the ocean.

The ranch’s seller, Hana Ranch Partners, has agreed to allow the new ranch owner to continue to graze cattle on about 350 acres makai of the highway and will maintain public fishing and beach access, according to Bio-Logical Capital.

The sale tentatively includes two water utilities, Hana Water Co. and Hana Water Resources, though this transaction is subject to approval by the state Public Utilities Commission.

Hana Ranch Partners had marketed the ranch for sale several years ago with a $65 million asking price that was later reduced to $55 million.

The partnership bought the ranch in 2001 for about $25 million, according to property records.

Hana Ranch Partners is a company whose majority shareholder is part of the Getty Trust, one of California’s largest private trusts, for the benefit of San Francisco billionaire Gordon Getty and his family.