Intrawest has agreed to buy Steamboat Ski & Resort from American Skiing Co. for $265 million, the companies announced this morning.
Intrawest, which owns Copper Mountain and manages Winter Park Resort in Colorado, was recently purchased by Fortress Investment Group, a private New York-based investment firm, for $2.8 billion.
We re extremely pleased with this transaction, said B.J. Fair, chief executive of American Skiing. It s the absolute right thing to do. We re creating a lot of value for the company.
Park City, Utah-based American Skiing Co. put the north-central Colorado resort on the block in July.
The financially troubled company almost sold Steamboat four years ago for $91 million to an investor group led by Tim and Diane Mueller. But American Skiing backed out at the last minute, instead selling Heavenly to Vail Resorts Inc. for about $100 million.
The Mueller s went on to buy Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
Fair said the proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down American Skiing s debt.
The deal includes 3,498 acres of mountain terrain that the resort uses under a long-term special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. It also includes six parcels of base area land that are available for the development, 13 dining venues, the management of the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel and Condominiums and the Steamboat Central Reservations system.
Steamboat drew 1.05 million skiers last winter and generated $74.2 million in revenue in fiscal 2006, up 12.3 percent from 2005, according to sales documents obtained by The Denver Post.
The sale, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of the ski season.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
