Purchases of the needed properties were made through the company Hines Interests,[17][18] which in at least some cases did not disclose the fact that Apple was the ultimate buyer;[18] Phillips Mahaney, a partner with a local commercial real estate brokerage, noted that this is common practice in attempts to arrange the purchase of contiguous land made up of multiple parcels with separate owners, in order to keep costs from skyrocketing and not reveal the company's plans to competitors.[18] Among the sellers of the properties were SummerHill Homes (a plot of 8 acres or 3.2 hectares) and Hewlett-Packard (three buildings of their campus in Cupertino).[18]