FTO News Item: Rumors Fly Regarding Pending Sale of ASC Resorts

[deadheadskier]

I'm not talking about the last few winter. I understand why last year was way down. I'm talking about it on a whole, from around 1980 to present. I'm not positve but weren't the 80's and 90's Killington's peak in skier visits and it has been going down ever since ASC bought it?

Killington's loss of skier visits from its peak had far more to do with the rapid development of Okemo than ASC's mismanagement. During that time frame Okemo nearly quadrupled in size and offered far superior ski in, ski out lodging than Killington. You combine that with being a half hour closer drive and I would be willing to bet that Killington lost in the nieghborhood of 150K skier visits to their neighbor down the street.

 

[SkiDog]

Killington's loss of skier visits from its peak had far more to do with the rapid development of Okemo than ASC's mismanagement. During that time frame Okemo nearly quadrupled in size and offered far superior ski in, ski out lodging than Killington. You combine that with being a half hour closer drive and I would be willing to bet that Killington lost in the nieghborhood of 150K skier visits to their neighbor down the street.

WOW now thats a spin I never heard...

I totally disagree.....I think Okemo had LITTLE to do with Killingtons demise...I think you'll see that with new ownership.

M

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Alot of this is theory so here are the facts that I know, draw your own conclusions.

Last year kmart lost around 220,000(19%) skier days from the previous season. Overall the state was down 6%. BTW Mt Snow was the other big loser, down 15%. Last year Okemo leaped past Mt Snow to be the second largest resort, in skier days, with 600,00 .

IMHO Okemo did grab some, have no clue as to how much, market share from kmart, the market type that every resort wants, the market type that the A41 pass drove off. ASC went for short term but turned a deaf ear when everyone in the ski business told them it would come around to bite them in the butt....it did.

Kmart sold it's base developement rights to SP Land in 2004 who then sold it to Centrax who has recently backed out on the deal. Interesting that these big developement companies are Texas firms, the entity that really owns ASC is Oak Hill, a deep pocketed equity firm from Texas. BTW, Centrex recently bought Loon but the resort will continue to operate under the current management.

The real estate thing has become a PITA for ASC at kmart. Who remembers about 8 years ago when LBO announced a $750m base village project. Whoever buys kmart, if anyone does, it won't be anything close to the 256m ASC got for the Boat.

People in here have mentioned that the Meullers(Triple Peaks might be the potential buyers. I am sure the Meullers are still totally pissed at ASC over their attempt to buy Steamboat. It would be so ironic and satisfying for them to buy kmart at a bargin price and then turn it around to it's former glory. It's a great ski hill, no question.

I totally agree with Geoff that if kmart ends up with new owners the cheap pass is finished, kaput.

 

[thebigo]

stolen from kzone

American Skiing Company Announces Sale of Mount Snow
and Attitash Resorts For $73.5 Million
PARK CITY, UTAH — February 16, 2007 — American Skiing Company (OTCBB: AESK) announced today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Mount Snow and Attitash resorts for $73.5 million to Peak Resorts Inc., a resort operator with ski resorts in Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio. The announced sales follow the December announcement of the planned $265 million sale of Steamboat resort.
“We’ve worked very hard to ensure that the full potential and value of each of our resorts is realized. Under the existing circumstances and market conditions, this means contemplating the sale of certain of our resort assets, as we’ve planned with Steamboat and now Mount Snow and Attitash,” said ASC President and CEO B.J. Fair. “The tremendous interest we have experienced in the resorts is a tribute to the hard work and professionalism of our management teams. After much deliberation and many discussions with our Board of Directors, we feel that the best course of action for our stakeholders will be to sell these resorts under the terms proposed in the definitive agreements. This was obviously a very difficult decision, given the progress we’ve made at our resorts and as a Company,” added Fair.
Included in the sale of Mount Snow and Attitash are the commercial cores of the Grand Summit Hotels located at both resorts. The total cash purchase price of $73.5 million for both resorts is subject to working capital and seasonal earnings adjustments. In addition, the buyer will assume approximately $2 million in debt and other liabilities.
As a condition of the purchase and sale agreement, stockholder approval is required for the sales of the Mount Snow and Attitash resorts. The sole holder of the Company’s Preferred Stock Series C-1, representing 65.8% of the voting shares entitled to vote on the matter, has voted in favor of the transaction, which constitutes majority stockholder approval. Such approval means the transaction may be approved without a meeting of the Company’s stockholders. The Company anticipates distributing an information statement to stockholders regarding the majority stockholder approval as soon as practicable. The stockholder approval will not be effective until twenty days have elapsed following mailing of the information statement to stockholders. In addition to stockholder approval, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust approval and consent of the U.S. Forest Service.

 

[Vortex]

Its also posted on the All4one site. Need to be a pass hoilder to get in. Confirmed by Chip Carey of ASC.

 

[First Tracks]

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1687

 

[ctenidae]

$73.5M seems cheap-ish, or would have a season ago.

 

[Angus]

& "In addition, the buyer will assume approximately $2 million in debt and other liabilities."

I haven't read this whole thread so I'm sure about the real estate development rights & related assets but for Peak Resort, they are moving into a whole different league in terms of scale and scope of operations. wish them luck.

 

[wintersyndrome]

$73.5M seems cheap-ish, or would have a season ago.

That doesnt seem right for both of those resorts

haystack was sold for $5 mil with the investors plannning $450 mil in improvmentsover a number of years.

It doesnt seem like getting investors together to purchase the two resorts at 75 mil would be that hard to do, considering the skier visits they generate

 

[thebigo]

haven't read this whole thread so I'm sure about the real estate development rights & related assets but for Peak Resort, they are moving into a whole different league in terms of scale and scope of operations. wish them luck.

That was discussed a few pages back, I really hope they understand the completely different market they are enterring. Also assuming the POWDR deal for killington is announced on the heals of this deal, I also hope they understand that operating a resort in the east is much different than the west.

The big question is how this impacts the individual skier. I think at this point we can all agree that the a41 pass is gone. The question is are current a41 pass holders going to be nomadic in the future or purchase another pass.

Is there anybody in here that would be interested in a Crotched/Snow/Attitash pass?

Personally i would love a pass that offers crotched and a larger mountain but neither snow or attitash interest me.

As a current a41 pass holder I will probably be at Cannon next year, what do others think?

 

[thebigo]

That doesnt seem right...what did haystack sell for?

I believe haystack was $5M, with the right to buy the place back if it is ever put on the market again.

I wonder if the changes at the Haystack club were in any way related to the impending sale on Snow?

 

[Vortex]

Big O some good questions.

If there is a discouted Sunday River and Sugarloaf Pass I will buy it. It there is just a SR discounted Pass I'll buy it.

I have no intrest in the other mountains.

I'm going to Attitash during the Nh break for the MDVC, but not enough interest to get the pass at Attitash. Mt Snow is in the wrong direction for me.
Worse case I just use my threedom. The last 4 years have had some form of an Asc Pass Spring into March---all4one. Looks very doubtful for me next year though. I'll wait and see. SR is the big issue for me.

 

[thebigo]

another question:

What if this is it?

How many a41 pass holders would care if snow and attitash were gone?

In other words, who would renew for K/Loaf/SR?

 

[Edd]

I would.

 

[Brn4353]

another question:

What if this is it?

How many a41 pass holders would care if snow and attitash were gone?

In other words, who would renew for K/Loaf/SR?

without a doubt. K is so close and I loved the River when I was there. Hope that the a41 doesn't die all together...seems like there will be a lot fewer places to make up the "a" however.

 

[MadPadraic]

another question:

What if this is it?

How many a41 pass holders would care if snow and attitash were gone?

In other words, who would renew for K/Loaf/SR?

My guess is "a lot." Mt Snow is the shortest distance from NYC and Attitash has good proximity to Boston + all the cheap lodging/friends with condos in North Conway. SR, SL, and K might all be bigger and better, but the nice combination of destination resorts+day trip resorts is now lost.

If K-mart stays with ASC, and Peaks offers a crotched/sneaux/attitash pass there will be at least four different three-mountain passes that more or less compete with each other. I'd have to say that crotched/sneaux/attitash would prbably be the one I'd opt for b/c crotched has night skiing.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

This will affect the MWV skiers who use the A41 to go between Attitash & Sunday River...

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

Along with the Loon based threedom pass, I’d be interested in a season pass serving Crotched, Snow & Attitash...

 

[Greg]

Along with the Loon based threedom pass, I’d be interested in a season pass serving Crotched, Snow & Attitash...

I would imagine this would be huge and would certainly compete with the Threedom...

 

[hammer]

I would imagine this would be huge and would certainly compete with the Threedom...

I was interested as well so I checked out Peak Resort's web site to see what they do for their other ski areas...

Even in the midwest, it didn't look like they had any combination passes. What they do offer are ticket discounts at other areas if you already have a season pass at a Peak Resorts area.

With competition from Threedom and the ASC passes, they may need to offer a combined pass...I'd think that a pass that allows access to a ski area closer to Boston would be very popular.