American Skiing Company deal completed; Merger of LBO Resort Enterprises, S-K-I Ltd. creates North America's largest ski resort operating company; key personnel announced.NEWRY, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1996--The two largest ski resort operating companies in the Northeast completed a merger deal in Boston Friday afternoon, creating North America's largest ski resort operating company. The new American Skiing Company American Skiing Company was one of the largest operators of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its resorts included Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine and The Canyons in Utah. , to be headquartered in Newry, Maine Newry is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. It was settled in 1781 as Sunday River Plantation. It was renamed by settlers that had come from Newry in what is now Northern Ireland.[1] As of the 2000 census, the town had a total year-round population of 344. , will include the Mount Snow, Haystack, Killington and Sugarbush resorts in Vermont; Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). and Sunday River and Sugarloaf USA in Maine. Together, the resorts are expected to draw in excess of three million visitors annually. LBO's Cranmore and S-K-I's Waterville Valley resorts, both in New Hampshire, are subject to a divestiture order of the United States Department of Justice “Justice Department” redirects here. For other uses, see Department of Justice. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States . The American Skiing Company has up to 270 days to complete the divestiture. "This is an important day in the winter sports winter sports: see bobsledding; curling; hockey, ice; ice dancing; ice skating; skiing; snowshoes; tobogganing. industry," said American Skiing Company President Leslie B. Otten. "The skiing and snowboarding industry has been fragmented and disorganized dis·or·gan·ize tr.v. dis·or·gan·ized, dis·or·gan·iz·ing, dis·or·gan·iz·es To destroy the organization, systematic arrangement, or unity of. . The strength of the new company will enable us to attract new participants to the sports and create better value for existing skiers and snowboarders." Otten purchased Maine's Sunday River Ski Resort in 1980 from the Sherburne Corp., which subsequently evolved into S-K-I Ltd. In the year it was purchased, the then-tiny resort posted just 40,000 skier visits. The resort has since posted 16 consecutive record ski seasons. Otten purchased Attitash NH in July of 1994, acquired Sugarbush VT in May of 1995 and purchased Cranmore in June of 1995. Each resort has returned to profitability since being acquired by Otten. Otten attributes his resorts' success on creating outstanding snow conditions, providing fast lift service, developing varied, exciting terrain sought by skiers and snowboarders and providing low-key, friendly service to guests. Introductory skiing and snowboarding programs for children and teenagers will be one of the company's top priorities. The American Skiing Company will also be active in promoting New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. winter vacations to the international market. What it means for skiers and snowboarders Certain core values and techniques of the American Skiing Company -- quality snow, terrain, lifts and service -- will be spread across all ASC ASC Ambulatory surgery center, see there resorts. All resorts will offer the highly successful Perfect Turn Skier and Snowboarder Development Program, and all resorts will offer the Edge Frequent Skier Program. Additionally, all resorts will offer various interchangeable lift ticket and season pass options, and inter-resort programs such as ski and snowboard competition series are under development. Beyond that, however, each resort will retain its own unique character. "One of the questions we're most frequently asked," said Otten, "is whether all of the mountains will end up feeling the same. The answer to that is a definite NO. Skiing and snowboarding are all about freedom and discovery. That would be lost if each resort felt the same. Every mountain has its own style, its own spirit. We intend to enhance and celebrate that spirit. Guests can expect a high level of quality at each resort...but beyond that, each one will be unique." Financial information The merger is the result of an $18 per share tender offer for publicly-traded S-K-I Ltd., or approximately $105 million. The American Skiing Company will also assume approximately $30 million in debt. Bank financing for the deal was arranged through a consortium of Fleet Bank, Bank of Boston and KeyBank. Additional financing was created through a bond issue arranged through the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of investments bank Bear, Stearns and SPP (1) (Scalable Parallel Processor) A multiprocessing computer that can be upgraded by adding more CPUs. (2) (Standard Parallel Port) The Centronics parallel port that was used on the first PCs. Hambro. Key personnel moves The new American Skiing Co.'s officers include Leslie B. Otten, president and chief executive officer; Burton R. Mills, vice president for mountain operations; Tom Richardson Tom Richardson (born August 11, 1870, Byfleet, Surrey; died July 2, 1912, Chambéry, France) was one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and certainly the most prolific in terms of wicket-taking feats, largely owing to his amazing stamina and appetite for work, which allowed , vice president and chief financial officer; Chris Brink Chris Brink is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. From 2002-2007 he was the Vice-chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. , vice president of marketing and sales and Carl Spangler, vice president of planning and development. Alan Wilson, currently president and general manager of Sugarbush, will become president and general manager of Killington in Vermont. He will also remain a vice president at Sugarbush. At Sugarbush, Blaise Carrig, currently vice president of mountain operations at Sugarbush, will become president and general manager. S-K-I Ltd.'s Chris Diamond will return to Mount Snow as president and general manager, with additional responsibilities in real estate development. He will also retain responsibilities as vice president at Killington. Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt is an anchor for the television show SportsCenter on the ESPN network. Van Pelt signed on with ESPN after a stint with The Golf Channel, which explains why he is also one of the network's golf correspondents, covering the Majors. will assume the responsibilities of vice president for marketing at Mount Snow. Phil Gravink will continue as president and general manager at Attitash Bear Peak, and Warren Cook will continue as president and general manager at Sugarloaf USA. Capital programs for the upcoming season Details on capital programs at all American Skiing Co. resorts will be announced in approximately two weeks. Key milestones in the merger: Date Event Feb. 13, 1996 S-K-I Ltd. Board announces it has voted to recommend acceptance of tender offer by LBO LBO See: Leveraged buyout LBO See leveraged buyout (LBO). Resort Enterprises June 10, 1996 S-K-I Ltd. stockholders vote to approve merger June 11, 1996 Justice Department orders divestiture of Cranmore and Waterville Valley June 28, 1996 Deal closes (Boston) CONTACT: American Skiing Company Skip King, 207/824-3000 skip@sundayriver.com |
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