Jay Peak May Be Sold to Pacific Resorts

[ski diva]

Well, here's some news. For the past few years there's been a lot of speculation about who'd end up buying Jay Peak, Vermont. The resort has been on the block since 2016, when its management was involved in a huge scandal that included SEC fraud.

Now at long last, there's a potential buyer: Pacific Resorts Group has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) to buy the mountain for $58 million, PRG owns and operates five other North American ski areas: Ragged Mountain, New Hampshire; Wisp, Maryland; Wintergreen, Virginia; Powderhorn, Colorado; and Mount Washington Alpine, British Columbia. Jay Peak would instantly become the company’s flagship resort.

I'd imagine this would include Burke, too, but I guess that remains to be seen.

The sale is not yet final. Others can still submit bids. One or more additional qualified bids may result in auction.

I love Jay. We had Diva East there a few years ago, and it's a fine mountain. So we'll see what happens.

 

[ilovepugs]

$58 million huh? That’s interesting.

 

[Jilly]

Hmmm..

 

[marzNC]

Sounds like Burke is not included.

People who live close to Wisp and Wintergreen (local for DC/NoVA) might well make the trek to Jay if their passes included some days at Jay. PGRI pass holders have had access to other PGRI resorts in various ways in recent years.

 

[echo_VT]

I’ve visited Jay several times these past couple years. Great resort. Totally empty due to the restrictions on inter country travel between Canada and the US during Covid. Lots of untouched tree skiing when it dumped. Interesting! I’ve never heard of this conglomerate but i have heard of Ragged in NH. Hadn’t a clue they weren’t a stand-alone resort.

 

[ilovepugs]

I’ve visited Jay several times these past couple years. Great resort. Totally empty due to the restrictions on inter country travel between Canada and the US during Covid. Lots of untouched tree skiing when it dumped. Interesting! I’ve never heard of this conglomerate but i have heard of Ragged in NH. Hadn’t a clue they weren’t a stand-alone resort.

I appreciate that they seem to be pretty chill about aggregating resorts. We should go to Jay sometime, there’s an other mountain pass holder rate (for now) and can probably get cheap or free tickets through Unlikely Riders.

 

[marzNC]

Based on what I know of Wintergreen, VA and Wisp, MD, from the local ski forum, other than providing access to season pass holders to other PGRI resorts the operations are completely separate. More along the lines of Powdr and Alterra than Vail Resorts (Epic).

My home mountain, Massanutten, is an independent on the Indy Pass. I've been paying attention to Wintergreen for a couple decades because it's actually slightly closer to my house than Massanutten.

 

[marzNC]

The process of selling Jay is a bit different because it's still under receivership.

August 1, 2022

Motion Filed to Sell Jay Peak, PGRI Begins Bid Process - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Aug. 1, 2022—A motion for approval has been filed for Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) to enter into a $58 million asset purchase agreement (APA) to acquire Jay Peak Resort, Vt. A judge has 10 days to accept or deny the motion; if accepted, the asset purchase agreement...

www.saminfo.com

" . . .
SAM spoke with Knapp and PGRI chief financial officer Mark Fischer the evening of Aug. 1 about this next step in the potential acquisition. As Fischer explained it, “When a charity auctions off skis, the auctioneer asks who has $500 to start the bidding—that first bid is all we’ve done. Our bid hasn’t even been approved yet.”

Jay Peak has been under court-appointed receivership since 2016. If the judge approves PGRI’s “stalking horse” bid to purchase it, the resort will then go to auction where other qualified bidders can submit a higher bid for approval. The auction period takes 30 days, said Fischer, and “if PGRI's bid wins out, there is still a complex contract process” to follow.

“All that has happened is the receiver has filed a motion with the judge, and we are now waiting for the judge to approve the bid before it moves to an auction process to determine the winning bidder,” said Fischer. “After the winning bid is accepted, there are a number of closing actions that would need to be completed.”"

 

[ski diva]

Here's the latest: According to VTDigger, there are other interested parties now. So If at least one other qualified bid is submitted, an auction would take place with bidding starting at the $58 million from Pacific Group Resorts. Stay tuned.

 

[echo_VT]

I heard that annual revenues were at $10mm per year. Any ideas of where the bidding could go?

 

[marzNC]

The bidding will be in specific increments. Have seen the info in multiple articles: "If an auction takes place, bidding will start at PGRI’s $58 million bid. The bidding would then increase with an initial bid increment of $1.75 million or higher, followed by bid increments of at least $250,000."

Apparently in 2020, the town wanted to value Jay Peak at $121 million. After negotiations, the valuation was set at $85 million. Can't imagine a buyer would pay more than that.

 

[marzNC]

Apparently PGRI didn't win the auction yesterday. The winning company's identity isn't public yet. As Stuart pointed out in his article, just because the auction is over doesn't mean the process is completely over yet. When Timberline in WV went to auction in 2019, even though the Perfect family lost the auction there were reasons that ultimately they ended up owning Timberline. Everyone in the region is very happy with that result. Hopefully that will be the case for Jay Peak as well when the dust settles.

Sept. 8, 2022

Mystery Buyer Wins Auction for Jay Peak

Winning bid has 30 days to reveal identity

www.stormskiing.com

Sept. 7, 2022

Will the winning Jay Peak bidder step forward?

After years of waiting, and seven hours of intense bidding on Wednesday, a winning bid emerged late in the day from the multi-million dollar auction.

www.wcax.com

Sept. 7, 2022 after bidding process over, New York City

 

[MissySki]

Apparently PGRI didn't win the auction yesterday. The winning company's identity isn't public yet. As Stuart pointed out in his article, just because the auction is over doesn't mean the process is completely over yet. When Timberline in WV went to auction in 2019, even though the Perfect family lost the auction there were reasons that ultimately they ended up owning Timberline. Everyone in the region is very happy with that result. Hopefully that will be the case for Jay Peak as well when the dust settles.

Sept. 8, 2022

Mystery Buyer Wins Auction for Jay Peak

Winning bid has 30 days to reveal identity

www.stormskiing.com

Sept. 7, 2022

Will the winning Jay Peak bidder step forward?

After years of waiting, and seven hours of intense bidding on Wednesday, a winning bid emerged late in the day from the multi-million dollar auction.

www.wcax.com

Sept. 7, 2022 after bidding process over, New York City

7 hours of bidding!

 

[ski diva]

According to Vermont Digger and the Burlington, VT news station, the winner is indeed Pacific Resorts, pending court approval. I think the winning bid was $74 million.

 

[marzNC]

Yep, NBC5 in NYC also announced PGRI as the winner. As did Liftblog and Snowbrains.

Jay Peak Resort announces new owner following auction

No major operating changes are expected at Jay Peak as part of the sale, and all existing season passes and multi-resort pass arrangements will be honored.

www.mynbc5.com

 

[marzNC]

The auction pushed the price up to $76 million. PGRI obviously really wanted Jay.

September 8, 2022

Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. Submits Top Bid for Jay Peak at $76 Million - Ski Area Management

PGRI president and CEO Vern Greco shares his thoughts on the acquisition with SAM. SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Sept. 8, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) made the highest and best final bid to buy Jay Peak, $76 million, following an auction with multiple bidders. PGRI president and CEO Vern...

www.saminfo.com

 

[marzNC]

The sale of Jay Peak to PGRI is a done deal.

September 16, 2022

As judge OKs $76 million sale of Jay Peak Resort, receiver says Burke Mountain Resort could soon be sold

Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver overseeing Jay Peak, provided a glimpse Friday into last week’s closed-door, daylong auction for the ski area, including that it encompassed 48 separate bidding rounds.

vtdigger.org

 

[echo_VT]

What an ordeal. Didn’t realize the backstory of the previous owners now in federal prison.

 

[marzNC]

It's a done deal. PGRI is the new owner of Jay Peak as of Nov. 1, 2022.

November 1, 2022

PGRI Closes on Jay Peak Acquisition - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Nov. 1, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) has completed its purchase of Jay Peak, Vt., from court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg. PGRI’s prevailing bid of $76 million was approved by the United States District Court in Southern Florida on Sept. 16, and the State...

www.saminfo.com

Stuart Winchester of Storm Skiing Journal is going to do a live podcast with Steve Wright, GM of Jay Peak, on Friday afternoon, Nov. 18, at the Snowbound Expo in Boston.

 

[Lmk92]

It's a done deal. PGRI is the new owner of Jay Peak as of Nov. 1, 2022.

November 1, 2022

PGRI Closes on Jay Peak Acquisition - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—Jay, Vt., Nov. 1, 2022—Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI) has completed its purchase of Jay Peak, Vt., from court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg. PGRI’s prevailing bid of $76 million was approved by the United States District Court in Southern Florida on Sept. 16, and the State...

www.saminfo.com

Stuart Winchester of Storm Skiing Journal is going to do a live podcast with Steve Wright, GM of Jay Peak, on Friday afternoon, Nov. 18, at the Snowbound Expo in Boston.

Does this mean the Perfect family now owns Jay?