Intrawest to sell stake in Florida resort

Vancouver-based Intrawest ULC said Tuesday it has reached a deal to sell its interests in Florida's Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

The buyer is the Becnel family, which is based in Florida.

It would be the fourth asset sale by the financially troubled company in as many months as its parent firm struggles with a heavy debt load.

No price was disclosed. The deal is expected to close by the end of March.

Creditors of Intrawest's parent hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC have moved to put Intrawest up for auction on Feb. 19, as Olympic skiers and snowboarders race down the slopes of its flagship Whistler Blackcomb resort during the 2010 Winter Games, which begin in three days.

The organizers of the games and Intrawest have said the auction process won't affect Whistler Blackcomb's operations.

The creditors have served notice of foreclosure proceedings against Fortress after it missed payments in December that were due on a $1.4 billion US loan.

Lindsay Meredith, a marketing professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, doubts Sandestin was sold for very much.

"Would that have garnered big cash? I'm afraid to say probably not so," he told CBC News. "That Florida real estate market, as you know, is about as bottom of the barrel as you're going to get."

Meredith said he expects an auction of the other assetsis not an empty threat by creditors. He predicted they willtry to use the international attention during the Olympics to promote awareness in order to get the best possible bids.

'Grossly overpaid'

"Believe me, they need to," he said. "Fortress grossly overpaid for the Intrawest properties."

Intrawest said it will work with the Sandestin buyers to ensure a smooth transition and that it will be "business as usual" at theresort on Florida's Gulf Coast, east of Pensacola. The development includes cottages, homes and hotel properties, as well as a marina, shops and restaurants.

Intrawest bought Sandestin in 1998 as part of a plan to diversify away from seasonal ski resorts.

But Intrawest spokesman Ian Galbraith said the company has since changed its strategy to focus on its four-season mountain resorts where it owns both the real estate and operations, including Whistler Blackcomb, Quebec's Mont Tremblant and Ontario's Blue Mountain.

"When we talk about focusing on a core set of resorts moving forward, it's going to be these mountain resorts that have four-season aspects to them and the decision was made that this beach resort in Florida just didn't fit into that model," Galbraith said.

Intrawest has already announced the sale of its Squaw Valley ski resort in California, the Panorama Mountain resort in Invermere, B.C., last month and its Colorado Copper Mountain resort in November.

Galbraith said there was no overarching plan to sell off resorts as Intrawestapproaches foreclosure, adding that the company has discussed each resort to determine whether it fits into Intrawest's long-term strategy.