ASC Announces Sale of Sunday River and Sugarloaf

[hudson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hudson]

As expected...............





ASC Announces Sale of Sunday River and Sugarloaf Resorts
Tuesday June 5, 4:42 pm ET

PARK CITY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Skiing Company announced today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA resorts, both located in Maine, to Boyne USA, Inc. for $77.0 million in cash. Boyne will also assume $2.0 million in debt and other liabilities. The announced sale follows the review of strategic options for both resorts announced in March.

"The longstanding relationship between ASC and the communities of Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA extends to the very origins of our company," said ASC President and CEO B.J. Fair. "With so much of our company's roots and history here, it will be hard to part ways with these resorts. However, I am confident both resorts have an exceptionally bright future ahead of them. Boyne is an established operator and should bring a wealth of vision and resources to guide Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA into their next stages of growth," added Fair.
Sunday River features 131 trails spread across eight interconnected mountain peaks, serviced by a network of 18 lifts, including four high-speed quads. A recently constructed Robert Trent Jones, Jr. championship golf course, two full-service fractional ownership hotel and conference center properties, and numerous local attractions complement the four-season offerings of the resort.
Located in the heart of Maine's Carrabassett Valley, Sugarloaf/USA boasts New England's longest continuous vertical drop (2,820 feet) and only lift-serviced above-treeline skiing. A full-service fractional ownership hotel and conference center, golf, mountain biking and fall foliage viewing are also important components of the resort's year round recreation offerings.


Headquartered in Michigan, Boyne USA, Inc. is a privately held company that has interests in seven North American resort properties, including Big Sky Resort in Montana; Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands and Bay Harbor in Michigan; Brighton in Utah; Crystal Mountain in Washington and Cypress Mountain in British Columbia, Canada.


The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust approval and stockholder approval of American Skiing Company. The transaction is expected to close on or before July 31, 2007.

The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the sale for working capital purposes or as otherwise determined by the board of directors of the Company. Mr. Fair also noted that while American Skiing Company will be working towards closing the sale of Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA, the company remains focused on operating The Canyons and reaching a successful and favorable resolution of the litigation involving the Utah resort.

[Theo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Theo]

Killington (Vermont) is also now no longer owned by ASC, as of mid May 2007.
New owner is PowdrCor / SB land Trust. I spoke with a few Killington employees while visiting there just last week and they seemed optimistic that the change of ownerhip will be beneficial. They expressed their belief (whether right or wrong, I don't know) that ASC had been putting little or nothing "back into the mountain operations" for quite some time now......

[hudson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hudson]

Sugarloaf and Sunday River : locals take on the sale

INside the OUTside -Sugarloaf/USA, Sunday River Sold
06/13/07
By Dan Cassidy, Special to the Irregular


Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River Ski resorts have new owners. Boyne USA of Michigan purchased the two Mane ski areas for $77 million, along with assuming $2 million in debt and other liabilities, according to the American Skiing Company. Boyne USA is no stranger to the skiing industry. The privately held company has other skiing interests located in seven other resorts, including Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands and Bay Harbor in Michigan; Big Sky Ski Resort in Montana; Brighton Ski Resort in Utah; Crystal Mountain in Washington State and Cypress Mountain in British Columbia, Canada.

The sale of the two Maine resorts had been ongoing for quite some time. A spokesperson for the financially strapped American Skiing Company based in Park City, Utah said that they expect the sale to be finalized by July 31. American Skiing Company was once one of the largest owners of ski resorts in North America, owning eight areas that included, Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River in Maine; Mt. Snow, Killington and Pico in Vermont; Attitash in New Hampshire; Steamboat in Colorado; the Canyons in Utah; and Heavenly Valley in California-Nevada.

Locals’ “take” on the sale

There had been a lot of speculation and rumors circulating around Sugarloaf/USA, Maine's premier resort, from hoping they go separately, both together and “hostile” take-over ideas to local wannabes pooling their money together. "I think the news for Sugarloaf is good," said John Christie, former general manager of Sugarloaf and Mt. Snow in Vermont. Christie is also Ski Museum of Maine president and a member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. "It happens that I got to know the elder Kirchner, Everett, the son of the family enterprise that began with Boyne Mountain in Michigan back in the early sixties. We sat together on the Board of the National Ski Areas Association. I think the new owners have the genes, the track record and most important the resources to do great things in Maine."

John Ritzo, Headmaster at Carrabassett Valley Academy said that he hasn't had the chance to meet the new owners yet. "Everything we hear is that they're first class, and we're eager in anticipation to meet them," he said. Ritzo said that they hope to continue the strong partnership CVA has had over the past 25 years. "They (Sugarloaf) have always been very supportive of the school, and we hope it continues. We've done a lot of things over the past years that CVA has helped such as conducting championships both nationally and internationally, including the Special Olympics of Maine. We've become a strong part of the Sugarloaf community and hope that the new ownership wants to continue that. So far it's been mutually beneficial for us and the mountain to work together. We hope that we add value to the resort." John McCatherin, Secretary of the Carrabassett Valley Outdoor Association said that he thinks that those members who skied at Big Sky this past winter can agree that it was a well-run operation. "Their rates were somewhat comparable to Sugarloaf's."

McCatherin also said that there was lots of construction going on, a pretty good sign that investment capital was available. "Granted, some was private investments in condos and houses, but the mountain operation itself seemed to be the beneficiary of investments as well. That would bode well for Sugarloaf, where we've seen little investment money for a number of years now. I also like the fact that Boyne owns and operates what I would describe as less-than-major resorts, located in rural areas. That means the circumstances they will deal with at Sugarloaf won't be totally foreign to them. So far, I like what I hear. The proof of course, will be in the pudding."

B. J. Fair, American Skiing's President and Chief Executive, said in a prepared statement, "Boyne is an established operator and should bring a wealth of vision and resources to guide Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA into their next stages of growth."

Besides ski areas, Boyne USA Resorts also include world class championship golfing and spas in their ownership.
























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