CORRECTION: Pacific Group Resorts Enters Asset Purchase Agreement for Jay Peak

Receiver will still accept additional bids

Pacific Group Resorts (PGRI) has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) to buy Vermont’s Jay Peak Resort for $58 million, The Storm Skiing Journal has learned.

The sale of Jay is not final, and is still “subject to a competitive bidding and auction process.” PRG is defined as the initial, or “stalking horse” bidder, and the receiver will accept additional bids for no less than PRG’s offer price. If there one or more qualified bids are submitted, the receiver will hold an auction for the resort.

“The time has come for the Receiver to sell the Jay Peak Resort,” a statement filed by court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg states. “When the Receiver took over the Jay Peak Resort in April, 2016, it was on the verge of collapse having little money and making very little profit. In fact, the Receiver had many sleepless nights during the summer of 2016 wondering if he would be able to even make payroll. Now, after more than 6 years, the Jay Peak Resort is significantly more profitable and hundreds of jobs have been saved. The Receiver attributes this success to his top-notch management team and the dedicated employees who work tirelessly to make Jay Peak one of the greatest ski resorts in the country.”

When asked for comment, Jay Peak General Manager Steve Wright said “This is a step in the process but there are more steps to go that will likely continue to stretch forward into the summer; signing an asset purchase agreement (APA) simply initiates and, in reality, continues, the process.”

Asked for any additional thoughts on PGRI or the process itself, Wright continued, “In roughly all aspects, I can’t get into specifics relative to the sale as the process is underway. Suffice to say PGRI is a world-class operator of resorts and were they to complete that process, both the resort and their organization would be better for the relationship.”

PGRI owns and operates five other North American ski areas: Ragged Mountain, New Hampshire; Wisp, Maryland; Wintergreen, Virginia; Powderhorn, Colorado; and Mount Washington Alpine, British Columbia. Jay Peak would instantly become the company’s flagship resort.

Jay Peak is a gem of New England, with the largest average annual snowfall of any ski area east of the Rockies, an extensive glade network, and one of only two ski area aerial trams in New England.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested that the PGR purchase was final. I regret the error. This story will be updated.

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