Intrawest sells Panorama resort

Financially troubled Intrawest ULC announced Thursday it has sold the Panorama Mountain Village ski resort in Invermere, B.C., to a group of buyers.

The group, Panorama Mountain Village Inc., said the deal will include the resort's on-mountain and Nordic ski operations, a 50 per cent ownership position in the Greywolf Golf Course, all of Intrawest's commercial operations and lodging units in the village, and the land available for real estate development. The resort is one of the largest employers in the region.

Last week, Wall Street financiers said they were going to put up for sale another high-profile Intrawest asset, the Whistler Blackcomb resort near Vancouver, while the facility is hosting Winter Olympic events next month.

Creditors who have loaned $1.4 billion US to Intrawest have effectively seized control of the company and are attempting to auction off its assets.

Rick Jensen, CEO of Panorama Mountain Village Inc., wouldn't disclose the price.

"I can't answer that because we're still waiting for regulatory approval, which should come next week," he told CBC News. "We paid a price that was fair to both sides."

A source has told CBC News that the group paid $27.5 million. The deal is due to close in February. The buyer group is made up of 18 people, most of whom own homes in Panorama.

"We have people from Calgary, we have people from Edmonton, we have people from England, we have people from Bermuda, all sharing the common thread of having a home in Panorama and loving the mountain." said Jensen,a real estate developer who has built homes at the Panorama resort for 10 years.

Jensen said the buyers will reinvest all profits into developing the resort.

Ian Galbraith, director of corporate communications with Intrawest, said the decision to sell was based on the fact that Panoramano longerfits with its strategy. He said it now intends to focus onWhistler Blackcomb, Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Blue Mountain in Ontario.

In 2006, Wall Street hedge fund Fortress Investments LLC bought Intrawest in a $2.8-billion US deal. Fortress recently missed a $524-million debt payment connected to that purchase.

The primary lender on the Intrawest deal in 2006 was defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers.