Fortress Investment Group LLC may have to contribute at least $150 million to Intrawest ULC, the owner of the Olympics’ alpine skiing venue it bought in 2006, to avert bankruptcy or foreclosure, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Intrawest’s creditors this week postponed an auction of the company’s assets until Feb. 26. The deal, which pushes off a sale of the owner of the Whistler Blackcomb skiing center during the Winter Games, doesn’t address creditors’ demands that Fortress add equity to Intrawest, said the person, who declined to be identified because talks were private.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Davidson Kempner Capital Management LLC and Oak Hill Advisors LP are in a group of lenders seeking control of Intrawest after the company missed final payment on a $1.4 billion loan in December. Intrawest struggled under a debt load even after layoffs and expense cuts. The lenders’ administrative agent, Wilmington Trust FSB, had initially slated an auction for Friday that also included stakes in the Steamboat ski area and a contract to operate Winter Park ski area for Denver.
Vail Resorts Inc., based in Broomfield, is among a group of bidders for Whistler whose offers have been rebuffed, the Globe and Mail reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources. Kate Coble, a spokeswoman for Vail, declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Avon-based Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc., which operates resorts in northern California and New England, isn’t interested in buying Whistler, said Julie Maurer, vice president of marketing and sales.
“They negotiated a reprieve, but it’s still a black eye,” said Steven Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who studies buyouts. “Investors are being asked to throw more good money after bad, which they can’t be happy about.”
Lilly Donohue, a spokeswoman for New York-based Fortress, declined to comment.
