Jay Peak bombshell

[KustyTheKlown]

thats good. should preserve the status quo.

 

[thebigo]

The “stalking horse” bidder, Pacific Group Resorts, Inc., submitted the highest and best bid in the amount of $76,000,000.4/

 

[urungus]

Wonder if we will find out who the other bidders were

 

[thebigo]

thats good. should preserve the status quo.

For this year sure, but doubt they are indy next year.

 

[Newpylong]

That sucks, place isn't worth it. When Ragged can't even get a buck on top of revenue I am having a hard time supporting this.

 

[thetrailboss]

$76 mill. Wow.

 

[thetrailboss]

Pacific Group Resorts makes winning, $76 million bid for Jay Peak - VTDigger

A daylong auction among “multiple” bidders took place Wednesday.

vtdigger.org

So who were the other bidders?

 

[thetrailboss]

That sucks, place isn't worth it. When Ragged can't even get a buck on top of revenue I am having a hard time supporting this.

What’s the alternative? None really.

 

[Newpylong]

Don't buy another mountain?

 

[St Stephen]

Wow relief here in Jay
But what a long strange trip

 

[ss20]

I wouldn't say "relief"...I've made my arguments before about how this small group might be biting off more than they can chew.

 

[ThatGuy]

I agree SS, don’t know much about Pacific Group but do they have the resources for what Jay needs. Also how will this effect their other resorts, do they have the capital to support them+Jay.

At the end of the day its better than Jay on a Megapass in my eyes but at what cost.

 

[thetrailboss]

Don't buy another mountain?

Well, what is known about Pacific Group? Who are they? Where are they getting their money?

There are not a lot of good options. Nobody likes Vail. Alterra is honestly not much better. Boyne said no. POWDR is dysfunctional on a good day. I hear that Fairbanks is growing, but apparently they did not have the coin. MSSR is not coming back and even then they were pretty cheap.

 

[thetrailboss]

I wouldn't say "relief"...I've made my arguments before about how this small group might be biting off more than they can chew.

I wonder if they now sell off one of their other resorts.....

 

[Newpylong]

Oh I would have no concerns whatsoever about Pacific Group "biting off more than they can chew" on an operational/management basis. They let local management have independence and to the customer, this is a good thing. They put out an exceptional product, no flash, affordable. You know what you're getting. I suspect the Jay community is relieved it was them out of anybody that picked the place up.

My concerns come more as a Ragged customer, as they run a very tight capital budget and have concerns this will not help it. Alternatively, I may be reading into it too much and they could have decided now is the time to get more serious about their New England assets. Again, could go either way. Time will tell...

 

[thetrailboss]

Oh I would have no concerns whatsoever about Pacific Group "biting off more than they can chew" on an operational basis. They let local management have independence and to the customer, this is a good thing. I suspect the Jay community is relieved it was them out of anybody that picked the place up.

My concerns come from a Ragged customer, as they run a very tight capital budget and have concerns this will not help it. Alternatively, I may be reading into it too much and they could have decided now is the time to get more serious about their New England assets. Again, could go either way.

FWIW the Receiver is quoted as saying that he was very upfront that Jay needs more investment. We will see if that happens. The lift infrastructure is pretty beat. No significant lift upgrades since 1999. I'm not counting the relocated Metro Quad or the other T-Bar replacement. Those are not very significant lifts in the grand scheme of Jay. There are some resorts replacing lifts that are not much older than the Freezer. I'm not even talking about the snowmaking.

 

[Abubob]

All I’ll say is that Ragged was a crumbling disaster when Pacific Group took things over. They refurbished the 6
pack and got the crippled Spear triple going. Small changes over the coming years have made Ragged one of the most enjoyable places. They didn’t always make the best decisions, they were involved with EB-5 too and the Pinnacle expansion didn‘t pan out but over all Ragged is a much better place than when they started.

Don‘t expect miracles from PGR. Improvements may come slowly but I, at least, am confident In their management style.

 

[Abubob]

I have one other thing to add.

 

[ss20]

All I’ll say is that Ragged was a crumbling disaster when Pacific Group took things over. They refurbished the 6
package and got the crippled Spear triple going. Small changes over the coming years have made Ragged one of the most enjoyable places. They didn’t always make the best decisions, they were involved with EB-5 too and the Pinnacle expansion didn‘t pan out but over all Ragged is a much better place than when they started.

Don‘t expect miracles from PGR. Improvements may come slowly but I, at least, am confident In their management style.

You make a good point, yeah Ragged has been turned around nicely over 15 years. The issue is Jay needs snowmaking capital now and the Flyer will need replacement sooner than later being an American Leitner one-off. They won't have 15 years to make improvements...it has to happen soon and now they're $80 million down.

I will add too that the Flyer replacement will be nearly 8,000 feet in length, 30ish towers, and *should* be a bubble lift. Not exactly cheap

 

[Newpylong]

I do suspect they did their due diligence and have factored these items into the transaction. One would hope so anyway... A new lift and snowmaking improvements are natural first moves for new owners. I just would not expect to ever an "Epic Style" capital extravaganza if you know what I mean.

Abubob does put things into prospective nicely. Ragged went from a bankrupt falling down no name to what they are today under PCR, but they did so gradually.