If you owned ASC, what would you do?

[ski_resort_observer]

As far as the base village at kmart that boat has left the dock in that they have sold the developement rights a couple of years ago.

 

[skier90]

sell them all exept sunday river and attitash, Than opean Moose Mountain and Mt Tom, than re-name the coumpany New England Skiing Chain or something...

 

[Geoff]

Some interesting comments. My take is ASC isn't going anywhere until it gets out of debt. Exorbitant interest costs are money down the toilet.

This is the only post here that really seems to capture the problem. To paraphrase a presidential candidate, "It's the DEBT, stupid". The real issue is that the book value of the ski areas is roughly the same as their debt. Selling ski areas doesn't help unless you sell all of them and shut the company down since the total debt is about $450 million. Okemo signed a contract to buy Steamboat (1 million skier visits) for $91 million. It's unlikely that ASC could get more than $100 million now. The Canyons is worth less than that. Say $75 million. Killington might be worth about $75 million. Mt Snow and Sunday River about $50 million. Attitash and Sugarloaf aren't worth much at all.

All the ski areas in the ASC portfolio show some amount of operating profit. The problem is that ASC has about $75 million in interest payments and the resorts only generate half that in operating profit. The only way out is to develop real estate. ASC completely sucked at doing that which explains today's disaster. ASC lost control of the land they owned at the bottom of Killington so it's a real no-hoper now.

Killington? Nope. They only control 25% of the land for the base village.
The Canyons? Nope. They don't own the developable land.
Steamboat? Nope. It's already pretty much built out with no land left.

If it were my company, I'd do a Chapter 11 to get rid of all that debt. I'd get kicked out but ASC with ownership handed over to the people who hold their debt would be a completely viable business. It would likely get broken up along the way. Killington would end up with the Oak Hill guys who are behind SP Land that controls the land for the Killington Village. Sugarloaf and Attitash aren't worth much and would likely get spun out to locals like what happened at Sugarbush.