A bit long-winded, but here is the e-mail that was sent to subscribers:
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Dear Saddlebackers,
We're incredibly excited to announce that after nearly a year of negotiations, we've finally come to an agreement to purchase all holdings of Saddleback Mountain Resort, including the resort, base lodge, ski lifts and surrounding timberland, totaling 6,337 acres. The agreements were formally signed just yesterday and the sale will officially close later this summer. In the interim, our operating agreement allows us to immediately take control of mountain operations and begin the hard work required to get the mountain open again.
We know you're probably wondering who we are and what this means for the future of the mountain. Since you can't hear our accents over email we'll start with the obvious first - we're "from away" - Australia to be exact.
Our company is called the Majella Group, and we're a full-service property company, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. Back in 2011 my father and I fell in love with Maine and immediately set to work creating a vision for investing in this beautiful area.
A few years later, at the request of retired Maj. Gen. John W. Libby and former Portland Fire Chief and Majella CEO - Western Region Fred LaMontagne, we came back to tour the Western Mountain region and discovered Saddleback and Rangeley. The rest, as they say, is history.
We want you to know that our team understands the importance of Saddleback to the people of Maine, not only as an exceptional ski mountain, but as an economic driver for the entire Rangeley region. Our hope is to create a premiere four-season resort that leverages all the region has to offer. We are excited to dig in and get to work.
We know you're probably wondering when the mountain is going to re-open - specifically, if it's going to happen this season. After being closed for two seasons we understand just how important this is to you and the community - and it's very important to us as well. However, replacing the Rangeley Chair and T-Bar are at the top of our list, and from Mother Nature's perspective, we are already up against the clock.
You should know we've already engaged Doppelmayr, the world's leading manufacturer of ski lifts, to begin the survey and engineering work to replace the Rangeley Double Chair with a new TRISTAR Fixed Grip Quad Chair Lift that can support 1,500 skiers per hour. The Cupsuptic T-Bar will be replaced with a new Wind Resistant, Higher-Speed Surface Lift that can support 1,200 skiers per hour. When these two lifts are completed, Saddleback will feature one of the newest lift systems in all of New England.
What is still unclear, however, is when the lifts will be ready, which is why an opening schedule has not yet been determined. Our commitment to you is not to over promise, but to move expeditiously and communicate transparently. Please know, as soon as our team believes we can deliver a skiing experience that is consistent with our values and meets the needs of our skiing community, we will announce our plans for re-opening.
Many of you will be pleased to know that long-time Saddleback manager Jim Quimby will once again head up Mountain Operations. As it has always been, when he says it's good to go - we'll go.
In addition, Rangeley residents Greg Andrews and Perry Williams will complete the management team, along with Majella CEO - Western Region, Fred LaMontagne, who will serve as the resort's Chief Executive Officer and focus on long-range planning and strategic operations.
We will also begin discussions with other key staff, former and new, to round out a top-notch local and experienced team.
We all understand the important role we have assumed, and the significant work we have in front of us to bring Saddleback back to its rightful place. We so look forward to meeting all of you and welcoming the Saddleback family back home. If you have additional questions, head over and check out the
Q&A or send us a message on our Saddleback
website.
From all of us at Saddleback, we look forward to seeing you on the mountain again.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Monsour
Majella Group CEO
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