by The Editors on January 20, 2010
Creditors have foreclosed on Intrawest and are auctioning off equity in the company on February 19, 2010, according to a story in The Globe & Mail.
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.
[Editors’ note: The following was our original post from earlier today] Investors who have loaned Intrawest close to $1.4 billion dollars say they may foreclose on the resort operator next week according to a story in the New York Post.
Sources tell The Post that creditors holding $1.4 billion of debt on Whistler owner Intrawest are planning to foreclose on the company within the next week and a half, casting a shadow on the resort, which will host the alpine events of the 2010 Olympics. “It will probably happen within 10 days,” a source said. . . The showdown comes amid an impasse between the estate of fallen investment bank Lehman Brothers, Intrawest’s largest creditor, and Intrawest owner Fortress Investment Group, the publicly traded hedge fund run by Wesley Edens. . . By forcing Intrawest into bankruptcy, Lehman and other creditors could raise several billion dollars repossessing Intrawest and selling off its various resorts.
Luckily, all the snowboard events are taking place at Cypress Mountain. . . where last week they closed because there is no snow. But not to worry. They still have 23 days to load up.
[Globe & Mail Update: Creditors have foreclosed on Intrawest (Thanks, Skin)]
[BusinessWeek Update: Creditors to auction off Equity in Intrawest Resorts on February 19, 2010]
[Link: New York Post]
by The Editors on January 19, 2010
We have to wonder about the logic of investors who loans millions of dollars to a money-losing business and then ask for a piece of the floundering company when the loans cannot be repaid, but that is exactly what some of Intrawest ULC’s creditors are asking for according to a story on Bloomberg.com.
Fortress presented lenders including Davidson Kempner Capital Management LLC and Oak Hill Advisors LP with a plan last month to swap the loan for new debt maturing in 2015, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Lenders rejected the proposal, which gave them the option to convert some of the debt to equity in five years. Some lenders want equity now so they can benefit if Intrawest’s business rebounds.
Guess if you were silly enough to sink millions is ski resort real estate in the first place you might miss the fact that Intrawest probably doesn’t have much rebound in its future.
[Link: Bloomberg.com]
by The Editors on January 15, 2010
It appears that Australian surfers aren’t the only shreds with bad manners, Colorado is have its share of trouble as well according to a story in the Denver Post.
Snowboarders plopped across the middle of runs chatting on cellphones. Gondola cars reeking of smoke. Red Bull cans littering the snow under lifts. Shredders turning black runs blue with their “F-bombs. . . Powder hounds are decrying conduct more expected in malls and high school hallways than on the snowy slopes where controlled schussing used to be the norm but shredding — today’s term for tearing up the slopes — is now customary.
Winter Park is now making snowboarders watch a 15 minute video on “safety and civility” before they get access to the resorts high-end Dark Territory terrain park. Twenty-five other resorts are working on it as well.
Yeah, instructional videos do the trick every time. . .
[Link: Denver Post]
by The Editors on December 28, 2009
According to a story in The Globe And Mail Intrawest missed a $524 million payment to lenders due on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 and are currently in “continuing negotiations with the lenders.”
“Intrawest continues to be in active dialogue with our lenders regarding refinancing a term loan,” chief executive officer Bill Jensen said in a statement. . . Mr. Jensen said Intrawest’s customers at its resorts and property developments as well as Olympic organizers shouldn’t expect any changes, regardless of the negotiations on the loan payment and restructuring. . . “It is business as usual for Intrawest and we are providing our customers and homeowners with the memorable experiences that they have come to expect when they visit our resorts, and will continue to do so regardless of the outcome of these discussions,” he said.
Well, let’s hope it’s not exactly business as usual.
[Link: The Globe and Mail]
by The Editors on December 23, 2009
December 23, 2009 is a big day for Whistler-Blackcomb Resort owning Intrawest ULC and its parent Fortress Investment Group LLC. A reported $524 million payment on a $1.4 billion loan is due, according to a story in Businessweek. And they may not be able to make the payment.
Intrawest, which owns venues being used at the 2010 Winter Olympics, may be pushed nearer to default if it fails to make the $524 million payment after getting a 60-day extension on Oct. 23, according to the people, who asked not to identified because the loan terms are private.
But not to worry, Dave Cobb, deputy chief executive officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games says everything is fine. “Our venues are finished, preparations are nearly complete and we look forward to welcoming the world to Vancouver.”
Maybe Intrawest owner Fortress Investment Group LLC should just put tip jars all around during the Olympics and ask visitors to pitch in. That might help.
[Link: Businessweek]
by The Editors on December 15, 2009
Mammoth Mountain founder Dave McCoy, 94, is one of the world’s best examples of how to live life well. In his nearly century of life he has never stopped learning and trying new things.
He was the first to promote mountain biking at a ski resort, raced motocross well into his 80s, skied into his 90s, and most recently has taken up photography after friends gave him a digital camera, according to a story in the LA Times.
At 94, McCoy has archived hundreds of thousands of photographs in his home computer, which is connected to a 52-inch flat-screen television monitor used to critique and manipulate the images. . . . A tireless shutterbug, he prowls the Eastern Sierra’s 5,000 miles of backcountry roads several days each week on an all-terrain vehicle known as a Rhino, toting an array of sophisticated cameras he calls “my six-shooters.”
He is and always has been a great, gracious, and generous man. And we’re glad he’s still getting it done.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on December 7, 2009
Whistler sure seems to be having fun with its lift towers lately. On Sunday December 6, 2009, the Big Red Express lift was stopped and 100 people were evacuated after “a device on one of the towers fell off,” according to a story on The Province.
Here’s what Dave Brownlie, president of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort said:
“We had lift maintenance personnel inspect the situation,” Brownlie told The Province. “They determined that it was then safe to run the people off the line. . . He described the broken part as “a compression mechanism” that is installed on some towers to keep pressure on the top of the cable as it passes over rollers on the tower.
This is just the latest in a series of lift problems at the mountain over the past year. A drive motor failure on the Peak 2 Peak last April caused an unscheduled closure, a “broken bolt” stopped Blackcomb’s Harmony lift last February, and a “partial lift tower collapse” on Whistler Blackcomb’s Excalibur Gondola in December of 2008 resulted in several minor injuries.
Maybe this is what happens when the company that runs the resort is flailing. Good thing those Olympics are right around the corner.
[Link: The Province]
by The Editors on November 17, 2009
by The Editors on October 14, 2009
Opening day for the new shred season doesn’t get any better than this. With 20-30 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours Mammoth Mountain is ready to blow the doors off on the 2009-2010 season with free lift tickets on Friday October 16, 2009 (according to @mammothmountain).
As if we needed any more excuses to charge the 395. Looks like it’s time to call in sick.
[Link: Mammoth Mountain]
by The Editors on October 9, 2009
Creditors have foreclosed on Intrawest and are auctioning off equity in the company on February 19, 2010, according to a story in The Globe & Mail.
