Lenders foreclose on Intrawest - Globe and Mail news

Admin":3rpjk5qz said:
Holy cow!
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No, that would be Holy Sh*t!

I can understand Intrawests financials need some help (aka debt reduction), but Copper? Seems an odd choice of all of their properties to to me.
 
EMSC":2ezfbmw9 said:
Admin":2ezfbmw9 said:
Holy cow!
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No, that would be Holy Sh*t!

I can understand Intrawests financials need some help (aka debt reduction), but Copper? Seems an odd choice of all of their properties to to me.
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So their first step will be to lay off all the full time employees and offer them seasonal jobs with no benefits. They'll then arbritrarily change the way the resort is operated and chase away 30% of the skier visits.

It's kind of hard to compete with the Vail empire. In Utah, POWDR at least has a competitive advantage that they're the only real resort town in the state.
 
jamesdeluxe":npawr5l5 said:
So that means the Copper/Winter Park/Steamboat thing is toast?
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Powd'r seems too cheap/self interested/absorbed at a corp level to partner up and keep it going as a marketing arrangement, but it could happen (Ala, A-basin as part of the Vail passes despite different ownership).

The multi-passes and arrangement still hold for the 09-10 season, so we won't find out muchuntil the spring time early pass season I'd think...

Geoff":npawr5l5 said:
They'll then arbritrarily change the way the resort is operated and chase away 30% of the skier visits.
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That's what I'm afraid of... Especially cutting back or canceling the Tucker Mtn cat service (or adding fees to ride it or etc...). Hassle to hike even from the cat drop off point, but usually best snow on the mtn.
 
Any idea how much the Copper/Winter Park/Steamboat thing has contributed to Copper's skier visits or bottom line?

One would think that some lessons might have been learned from the Bachelor and Killington experiences. It will be interesting to see if this one starts out a little smoother.
 
Tony Crocker":1vlz6w36 said:
Any idea how much the Copper/Winter Park/Steamboat thing has contributed to Copper's skier visits or bottom line?

One would think that some lessons might have been learned from the Bachelor and Killington experiences. It will be interesting to see if this one starts out a little smoother.
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Obviously you don't get it, Tony. POWDR didn't make any mistakes there - just ask them. The only problem was poor communication.
 
POWDR didn't make any mistakes there - just ask them.
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Which goes straight back to my quip about the corporate self-absorbed perspective of Powd'r...
 
Tony Crocker":irfct89q said:
Any idea how much the Copper/Winter Park/Steamboat thing has contributed to Copper's skier visits or bottom line?

One would think that some lessons might have been learned from the Bachelor and Killington experiences. It will be interesting to see if this one starts out a little smoother.
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Tony, you would think some lessons would be learned, but realistically probably nothing was learned. I hate to say it but this doesn't bode well for Copper lovers.
 
At the time Powdr Corp bought Killington Bachelor had been in a sharp and continuous decline for the 5 years under their management. Thus I made the call early that there would be a likely firestorm vs. the local New Englanders, who would react to adverse changes faster and more vociferously than the Oregonians.

During the ensuing 2 years we hear from Schubwa that somebody in Powdr Corp realized they had gone too far with Bachelor and that there were improvements last year. We also hear from Geoff that compared to the last several years of ASC some aspects of Killington have improved. The main beef skiers have at both areas that is not being restored is length of season. Since Copper already has a typical resort season, this should be a non-issue there. I would agree with EMSC that the Tucker cat service is the type of amenity that often gets the axe from Powdr Corp though.

Some more local input on Powdr Corp and Copper: http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/880 ... powdr-corp
 
Tony Crocker":3nxotdr9 said:
Some more local input on Powdr Corp and Copper:
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I like how they are trying to pre-speculate on passes for 2010-11 over on that forum. A lot of guessing and they likely won't know anything on that topic for months. Powdr's recent forays elsewhere might make it more logical that they are buying now and not spring/summer. Lets them get used to the market and current financial realities/structure for a few months before they have to make major decisions that could piss off the user base or locals etc... If they use the time wisely learning the ins and outs of the resort and local market, that would show significant growth in understanding and corporate culture by Powdr.

That said, most folks impressions of Powdr as a company are still not very good (though perhaps the image is improving slightly from rock bottom). At this point in time, I would still expect some not-quite-fully-thought-through penny-pinching decisions to come out of the new owners that will tick off at least portions of the Copper user base (perhaps me if they alter Tucker cat stuff for the worse or etc..). The Colo market is probably the most competitive in the NA ski biz. There are similar or even tighter clusters of resorts elsewhere, but it seems the sheer volume/potential volume in Colo creates more cut-throat biz practices and prices than elsewhere.

I have to say I'm almost more interested in two related items for the moment:
1) What will Vail Inc do next year based on being in the drivers seat for local passes?
2) Which is the next Intrawest domino to fall (sell) in their attempt to pay off all their debt?
 
Re: #2 I'd speculate on Tremblant. Is got to be something to generate sufficient cash which rules out visitation losers like Panorama.

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No on Tremblant being sold because the unions contract is up Nov 1, 2010. Workers already told to expect lockout. I hope they figure something out, but that alone will chase buyers away.
 
This is just in...

Boyd Erman
Globe and Mail Update
Published on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 2:08PM EST
Last updated on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 2:11PM EST


Banks seize Whistler, other resort properties, after parent company Fortress Investment misses big debt payment
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Banks have seized Intrawest Holdings, the owner of the Whistler ski resort that's hosting the Olympic downhill races next month, after the resort operator missed a big debt payment, and now plan to auction the company off right in the middle of the games.

Intrawest's owner, Fortress Investment Group, lost control after missing a big interest payment to its lenders. The lenders, which include Lehman Brothers and Davidson Kempner, plan to auction off ownership of Intrawest on Feb. 19, according to a notice published in major newspapers. The first events of the games are scheduled for Feb. 12 and the closing ceremony is set for Feb. 28.

“Each qualified bidder must be a financial institution or other entity that has the financial wherewithal to purchase the membership interests in immediately available funds on the closing date,” the notice said.

The lenders, frustrated by a lack of progress in restructuring the debt, gave notice of the foreclosure to Intrawest on Jan. 8, said a person familiar with the talks. The timing was unrelated to the Olympics, the person said.

In addition to Intrawest, buyers will get stakes in four resorts in Colorado, as well as properties in California, Florida and Vermont. But with the Games only weeks away, the focus is on Whistler.

“We understandably cannot comment on Intrawest's finances beyond our continued support for their efforts to settle outstanding financial matters,” said Dan Doyle, the executive vice-president of construction for the Olympic committee.

“What we can confirm is that Whistler Blackcomb is an important partner in the staging of the 2010 Games and we continue working in very close partnership with them to finalize overall preparations and readiness for the skiing and sliding sport events.”

A source close to the organizing committee said that Fortress was hard to deal with so having Intrawest in the hands of lenders and the receiver acting on their behalf may be a boon.

“The receiver would appreciate the value to the asset of being a successful Olympic mountain,” said the person, who said that Fortress seemed indifferent to the fact that Whistler was to be home to the Olympics.

Intrawest chief executive officer Bill Jensen said that the company is in talks with its lenders, and in the meantime “it's business as usual.”
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-o ... le1437922/
 
Wow! Nice catch!

I'm guessing this news will be all over the ski-snowboard websites on the internet!

Was Tremblant sold? I tought it was part of Intrawest...
 
BigJay":1tyzivd2 said:
Was Tremblant sold? I tought it was part of Intrawest...
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I remember hearing the rumour about a possible sale and read the story a bit fast and didn't see resorts in Quebec, However it might be part of the whole lot.

Got to go to the races, it's Wednesday night in Ottawa. Admin can try to dig something up, he doesn't night ski, doesn't ski gates and.... doesn't like skiing ice. :-" 8-[ (actually conditions were surprising good on Monday).
 
And the answer is now clear. Intrawest is being auctioned off in it's entirety. Including Whistler - in the middle of the Olympics...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN2012353320100120?rpc=44

Fortress Investment Group, who owns Intrawest as a subsidiary, missed a .$500M debt payment and the banks apparently have started forecosure and auction of the entire stake in Intrawest...

Brings up many possibilities of someone buying the whole and then selling off the parts later, etc... Could VR buy it's way into one of the better Canadian properties for example (VR can't buy any more in Colo due to DOJ monopoly issues).
 
EMSC":39t3m59m said:
And the answer is now clear. Intrawest is being auctioned off in it's entirety. Including Whistler - in the middle of the Olympics...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN2012353320100120?rpc=44

Fortress Investment Group, who owns Intrawest as a subsidiary, missed a .$500M debt payment and the banks apparently have started forecosure and auction of the entire stake in Intrawest...

Brings up many possibilities of someone buying the whole and then selling off the parts later, etc... Could VR buy it's way into one of the better Canadian properties for example (VR can't buy any more in Colo due to DOJ monopoly issues).
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WOW!!! That's bad.
 
The times they are a changing! Could be Munich 1972 revisted, only banks, not terrorists will be the perpetrators.
 
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