Porcupine Creek features an 18,430-square-foot main home, an 18-hole golf course, a resort-style pool, eight guest houses and an outdoor party grotto.

Larry Ellison, the sixth-richest man in the world, has bought the 249-acre golf course estate of Edra Blixseth for $42.9 million, records filed in Riverside County show.

Lisa Bessone of Christie's International Real Estate on Tuesday confirmed the sale of Porcupine Creek but declined to divulge the buyer or other details.

Documents obtained by The Desert Sun show a grant deed was recorded on Jan. 28 by Porcupine Properties LLC, a limited liability company listing an address of 101 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek.

That's the same address used in state filings by Philip B. Simon as an agent of service for Porcupine Properties.

Simon is president of Lawrence Investments LLC, the firm that acts as the personal investment arm of Ellison, the founder and CEO of Bay Area-based business software and hardware systems giant Oracle Corp.

Ellison, last reported by Forbes to have a net worth of $28 billion, bought the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and its world-class BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in 2009.

The estate is roughly 20 minutes away.

Once owned by Yellowstone Club founders Tim and Edra Blixseth, the home was one of the lynch pins in their bitter divorce and subsequent bankruptcy action in Montana. Last year, Edra sold the Yellowstone Club to Boston-based private-equity firm CrossHarbor Capital Partners, LLC.

Porcupine Creek and its trappings ultimately fell into the lap of a trustee for BLX Group, the holding company for Yellowstone Club, the billionaires' resort in Montana.

Porcupine Creek hit the market early last year for $75 million. More recently, the asking price had been shaved 27 percent to $55 million.

The estate features an 18,430-square-foot Mediterranean-style main home with hand-painted ceiling murals, an amphitheater and a resort-style pool. With eight two-bedroom guest houses, a gym, spa, an outdoor party grotto with a full-size stage, and commercial kitchens, the private home has been the scene for numerous charity events that often drew 500 or more guests.

One of the estate's most talked-about features is its 18-hole golf course, tucked into the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Edra Blixseth on Tuesday confirmed the sale to Ellison in an e-mail.

“Porcupine Creek was and is near and dear to me,” she wrote, noting it was a special place that needs the flow and energy of people.

“It will now have that again: It's in great hands and will be enjoyed as it should be,” she wrote. “I believe she (the property) will once again be helpful to charities, and that warms my heart.”
Curt Watts, economic development director for the city of Rancho Mirage, said a review of the grant deed from CIP Yellowstone Lending LLC, the entity that took possession of the property after bankruptcy, granted the title to Porcupine Properties on Jan. 28.

“We put two and two together,” he said in figuring out the connection to Ellison.

Ellison has been the reported buyer of prime property in the recent past.

The Newport Daily News in Rhode Island noted the $10.5 million sale of William B. Astors' Beechwood mansion in 2010 to a company with ties to Simon and the Walnut Creek suite. The museum now is closed to the public.