Jay Peak Sold To Ragged Mountain Owner Pacific Group Resorts For Reported $76 Million
Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver for Jay Peak Resort, announced today that the original bidder, Pacific Group Resorts, Inc (PGRI), has made the highest and best final bid of $76 million to buy Jay Peak following an auction with multiple bidders on September 7. PGRI’s initial stalking horse bid was $58 million. The other bidders were not named.
The prevailing bid remains subject to approval by the United States District Court in Southern Florida during a final hearing tentatively scheduled for September 16, 2022.
If approved by the court, the transaction is expected to close this fall, prior to the 2022-23 ski and snowboard season. That will make Jay Peak the sixth ski resort in PGRI’s portfolio including properties in British Columbia, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, and New Hampshire.
Goldberg said, “With the success of this auction, we are one step closer to concluding the receivership of Jay Peak Resort. It has been six long years during which the resort has made tremendous progress under the leadership of general manager Steve Wright and his team and the guidance of Leisure Hotels. The time had come to put the resort back into private hands, and our investment bank, Houlihan Lokey, ran a strong sale process for us culminating in a very competitive auction. We are pleased an experienced operating company like Pacific Group Resorts ended up with this great asset.”
PGRI’s president and CEO, Vern Greco, noted, “We began pursuing this acquisition over three years ago and couldn’t be more pleased with the auction’s outcome which paves the way to add Jay Peak to our growing family of resorts. Jay has a high-quality team of dedicated employees who have weathered the uncertainty of the receivership for a long time. We look forward to bringing renewed stability to the property and its staff, we’re enthusiastic about the prospects for the resort, and we are delighted to be in Vermont which is an important market for any mountain resort operator.”
PGRI's executive vice-president and CFO, Mark Fischer, who led the acquisition effort, added, “The opportunity to own a resort like Jay Peak, with its considerable upside and a solid reputation, does not come along very often. The acquisition of Jay is an important step forward for our whole company and for our employees. We could not be more excited to welcome Jay Peak and its staff to our family.”
Each PRGI property is managed independently, and Greco said no major changes are contemplated to the upcoming winter operating plan at Jay Peak. All existing season passes, pass reciprocity, and multi-resort pass arrangements at Jay, including the Indy Pass, will be honored for the 2022-23 winter season.
Jay Peak is a four-season resort in Northern Vermont, close to the Canadian border and about 60 miles north of Burlington. Jay features 385 acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain serviced by nine lifts including Vermont’s only aerial Tram plus a year-round indoor waterpark, an indoor ice arena, an extensive recreation center, multi-purpose athletic fields, and an 18-hole championship golf course. The resort is best known for its 356 inches of average annual snowfall, which is the most east of the Rocky Mountains, and a wide range of accommodations, dining options, and unique events catering to all types of visitors.
