A company owned by the Jon M. Huntsman family has signed a 20-year franchise agreement to operate 14 Sotheby's International Realty offices in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Driggs and Sun Valley, Idaho.

The Huntsman family, whose patriarch Jon M. Huntsman is known for his philanthropic activities as wells as being the founder of a global chemicals conglomerate, holds a considerable amount of real estate in the region.

Over the past several years, the Huntsman family has developed a golf course, homes and commercial lots in and around the town of Driggs as part of a major multi-use real estate project known as Huntsman Springs.

"Our family's acquisition of the Sotheby's franchise represents a logical extension of the significant investments we made in the area," said David Huntsman, who oversees the family's real estate holdings in Idaho and Wyoming.

Profits from the real estate offices as well as those from Huntsman Springs will go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

The real estate offices previously were owned by NRT LLC, a New Jersey-based company that operates about 40 brokerage offices under a franchise agreement with Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates, which acquired the Sotheby's Real Estate brand in 2004.

"We really weren't interested in seeing those offices change hands," said Philip White, president and chief operating officer of Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates. "But they [the Huntsman family] had a strong interest in acquiring those offices, and we are expecting them to further grow our brand in the region."

He said the existing Sotheby's International Realty regional leaders, staff members and approximately 160 sales associates are all expected to remain with the company.

The Huntsman Springs project encompasses approximately 1,400 acres, although the bulk of that property --about 70 percent-- has been set aside for open space , which includes 500 acres of wetlands as a wildlife refuge.

"Their [the Huntsman's] project appears to be more viable than some of the other projects [in the area]," said Kathi Rinaldi, a Teton County commissioner. Driggs serves as the county seat for Teton County.

Rinaldi was formerly affiliated with the Valley Advocates for Responsible Development, a group dedicated to fostering environmentally sensitive development in the Teton Valley.

"In the whole scheme of things, the Huntsman's have done a pretty good job," she said. "They set aside quite a bit of acreage for conservation, which is a lot more than some have done."