Intrawest Examining Sale of Assets
mike lewis
- April 14 2009
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In a story that includes a virtual glossary of buzz words from the current economic crisis, Fortress Investment Group, the public hedge fund and private equity firm that owns Intrawest, has been having a terrible year, posting a $125 million dollar loss just last month for playing with Ponzie schemer Marc Drier, and now Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen says that his highly leveraged company is looking at selling assets to finance further projects.
According to an article in the Summit Daily News:
Despite a relatively strong winter performance by the company’s ski resorts, Intrawest has been in survival mode this season, Jensen said.
“The reality is, in this global economic challenge, that we have to take every step to survive. We’re looking at all the options to reduce our debt,” Jensen said, asked to address rumors that Copper Mountain is for sale.
“Copper is not one we want to sell,” Jensen continued. “There are some assets that are core to our business … But we’re exploring all the options.”
Another path could be to finance some of the company’s various businesses independently, Jensen said. For example, Intrawest’s Quebec assets could be financed separately in Quebec, he explained.
Jensen said that Copper and Winter Park — which Intrawest operates for the City of Denver — both performed well given current economic conditions, as did several of Intrawest’s Eastern resorts.
In western Canada, poor snow made it more challenging for Whistler-Blackcomb, he said.
The season was strong until President’s Day, Jensen added, when destination visits dropped off dramatically.
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