Boyne to Repurchase 6 Ski Resorts

By Barbra Murray

Brighton Resort in Brighton, Utah

It’s déjà vu—or at least it will be. Six properties that Boyne Resorts sold more than a decade ago will soon be part of its portfolio again. The mountain resort owner and operator recently entered into an agreement to repurchase the group of North American resorts and a scenic chairlift attraction from Ski Resort Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Oz Real Estate.

“Our intention all along has been to regain and acquire ownership of these resorts,” Stephen Kircher, president & CEO of Boyne Resorts, said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to see this come to fruition and also really proud of our long-term achievements and diligence that primed us for this acquisition.”

The mountain resort portfolio consists of Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City; Cypress Mountain in Vancouver, BC; Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Gatlinburg, Tenn.; Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; Sugarloaf and Sunday River resorts in Maine; and The Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle. It was between 2005 and 2007 when Boyne sold the assets to CNL Lifestyle Properties in long-term sale-leaseback transactions that allowed Boyne to continue in its role as operator. The assets changed ownership again in 2017 when Oz purchased them from CNL as part of a $375 million, 14-property portfolio purchase. And now, Boyne is on the verge of welcoming the ski resorts back to its collection.

“This opportunity now at hand will enable us to accelerate and fine tune the execution of our reinvestment plans for these spectacular properties,” Kircher added.

Trading slopes

The ski resort market has seen a few big-ticket deals over the last 18 months, leading to further consolidation in the industry. In October 2016, Vail Resorts Inc. spent roughly $1 billion on the purchase of Canadian ski resort operator Whistler Blackcomb Holdings. And in July 2017, KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Co. closed the acquisition of Intrawest Resorts Holdings Inc. and Mammoth Resorts in a $1.5 billion deal.

Pending regulatory approvals, the Boyne transaction is on track to close later this year. A Boyne spokesperson confirmed to Commercial Property Executive that the company is not sharing any additional information until the deal has reached completion.

Image courtesy of Boyne Resorts