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Jay Peak Auction Set for 11 a.m. Wednesday with 3 Bidders – Here’s How It Will Work

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Jay Peak Auction Set for 11 a.m. Wednesday with 3 Bidders – Here’s How It Will Work

Snow Partners confirms they will not be bidding

Stuart Winchester
Sep 7, 2022
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Jay Peak Auction Set for 11 a.m. Wednesday with 3 Bidders – Here’s How It Will Work

www.stormskiing.com

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The auction to purchase Jay Peak Resort in Vermont is set for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 7, a source with knowledge of the auction process has confirmed to The Storm Skiing Journal. As of 10 p.m. ET, three bidders were expected to participate, the source confirmed, including Pacific Group Resorts, whose $58 million opening bid jump-started the competitive bidding process on Aug. 1.

“We're not surprised Jay Peak is going to auction — this is all part of the process outlined from the beginning,” Pacific Group Resorts Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President Christian Knapp wrote in an email to The Storm Skiing Journal on Tuesday evening. “We remain committed to getting the deal done and would be delighted to add Jay to our family of resorts.”

The identities of the other two bidders remained a mystery, as do the amount of their bids. One major ski industry player confirmed to The Storm that they would not be participating tomorrow: Snow Partners, the operators of the Big Snow American Dream indoor ski area, Mountain Creek, Snowcloud resort operating software, and the Terrain Based Learning system that dozens of U.S. ski resorts employ.

“We aren’t going to give a better bid for Jay tomorrow,” Snow Partners CEO Joe Hession said via email. “We are laser-focused on future Big SNOWs and technology.”

Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher also confirmed to The Storm that they would not be participating in the auction.

Both Vail and Alterra have confirmed to The Storm in the past that they do not comment on potential acquisitions.

But there is no known requirement that bidders must be existing ski area operators. The court document accompanying Pacific Group Resorts’ original bid stipulated that potential bidders have “the ability to close the sale transaction without delay and by date of the auction” and “any other factors the [court-appointed receiver, Michael Goldberg] may deem relevant.” The bidders, then, could be almost anyone with the resources to purchase Jay Peak, including parties with no current presence the U.S. ski industry.

That same document that carried Pacific Group Resorts’ initial bid also spelled out the bid procedure for tomorrow:

  • The Auction will be conducted via Zoom or similar video…

  • The Auction shall be conducted as an “open cry” auction. Bidding will begin at the purchase price stated in the APA [$58 million] with an initial bid increment of $1,750,000 or if higher, highest purchase price stated by one or more Qualified Bids for the Assets. Bidding will subsequently continue in additional minimum increments of … $250,000.00 in cash. The Buyer is not required to participate in the bidding but shall have the right to bid at any time during the Auction.

  • The Auction shall conclude when the Receiver receives what is determined by Receiver in his sole discretion to be the highest and best offer for the Assets … Subject only to the subsequent approval of the District Court, the Receiver shall have the unfettered discretion to determine the Prevailing Bid and designate a Back-Up Bidder.

And that’s it. By tomorrow afternoon, barring any unforeseen developments, Jay Peak could have a new owner after six-plus years in a strange legal limbo stemming from an EB-5 scandal instigated by the previous owner, Ariel Quiros. The identity of the buyer will set off a new storyline, one defined not by scandal and perseverance, but by actualizing the potential of New England’s snowiest ski resort.

More Jay Peak in The Storm

An examination of Pacific Group Resorts’ bid and what the ski area could look like under their ownership:

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast
What It Would Mean if Pacific Group Resorts Bought Jay Peak
To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Paid subscribers receive thousands of extra words of content each month, plus all podcasts three days before free subscribers. More than six years after Vermont’s Jay Peak entered receivership following an EB-5 scandal that scammed hundreds of investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars and landed multiple people in federal prison, the ski area may be close to a sale…
Read more
6 months ago · 7 likes · 9 comments · Stuart Winchester

A conversation with Jay Peak General Manager Steve Wright (from October 2020):

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast
Podcast #27: Jay Peak President and General Manager Steve Wright
Listen now (65 min) | The Storm Skiing Podcast is sponsored by Mountain Gazette. The first issue drops in November, and you can get 10 percent off subscriptions with the code “GOHIGHER10” at check-out. Get 10 percent off everything else with the code “EASTCOAST…
Read more
2 years ago · 7 comments · Stuart Winchester

Why it was such a big deal when the Indy Pass signed Jay Peak - the resort subsequently finished as the coalition’s top redeemer for two consecutive seasons:

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast
Indy Pass Signs Vermont’s Jay Peak
Indy Pass, the upstart second-year multipass that delivers two days at each partner mountain for $199, today announced that Vermont’s Jay Peak would become its 57th partner ski area. The addition of one of the Northeast’s top ski resorts instantly changes the complexion and cache of the Indy Pass, adding a flagship mountain that has remained a top draw …
Read more
2 years ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Stuart Winchester

The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing all year long. Join us.

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The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 94/100 in 2022, and number 340 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com.

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Jay Peak Auction Set for 11 a.m. Wednesday with 3 Bidders – Here’s How It Will Work

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