Front Range skiers could snag discount passes to Steamboat Ski & Resort as soon as next winter now that Intrawest has agreed to buy the resort for $265 million.
If the deal announced Tuesday closes as expected next spring, the company hopes to package Steamboat with the two other Colorado resorts it has a stake in – Copper Mountain and Winter Park Resort.
“We believe there is inherent opportunity to drive demand across all three resorts by having them part of the same family,” Intrawest president and chief operating officer Alex Wasilov said.
This winter, Intrawest’s Rocky Mountain Super Pass gives Front Range skiers and snowboarders unlimited days at Copper and Winter Park for $369. A season pass to Steamboat started at $935.
Steamboat was put on the market in July by Park City, Utah-based American Skiing Co. The financially troubled company almost sold the north-central Colorado resort to an investor group four years ago for $91 million but backed out at the last minute.
“We’re extremely pleased with this transaction,” said chief executive B.J. Fair, adding that proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down American Skiing’s debt. “We’re creating a lot of value for the company.”
Will Marks, an industry analyst at JMP Securities in San Francisco, said he thinks the sale price is reasonable based on other recent ski-resort deals.
Mammoth Mountain in California sold last year for $365 million.
Marks based his assessment on Steamboat’s projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure of cash flow known as EBITDA.
According to sales documents obtained by The Denver Post, Steamboat had a projected EBITDA of $27.5 million for 2006.
“The multiple seems consistent with this market,” he said.
The sale is subject to regulatory approval.
The deal includes 3,498 acres of mountain terrain under a long-term special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. It also includes six parcels of developable base-area land, 13 dining venues and the management of the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel and Condominiums.
And further changes could be in store for the area. A group of privately owned properties in Steamboat’s base village also is up for sale, including the 351-room Sheraton Steamboat Resort & Conference Center and the Ski Time Square commercial buildings.
A deal is expected soon, according to Denver-based HVS Capital Corp., which is handling the listing.
Wasilov declined to comment on whether Intrawest is pursuing those properties as well.
“Certainly, we’re aware of everything that’s available in the market,” he said.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Intrawest has deep pockets these days now that it is owned by Fortress Investment Group.
The private New York-based investment company has $26 billion worth of assets and bought Intrawest in October for $2.8 billion.
Last month, Fortress said in a regulatory filing that it plans to raise up to $750 million though an initial public offering, in part to finance future acquisitions.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
