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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Suitor Sizes Up Silver Mountain Owner Of Big Mountain Resort In Montana May Acquire Kellogg Ski Hill

Eric Torbenson Staff Writer

A Whitefish, Mont.based ski company is negotiating with representatives from Silver Mountain Ski and Summer Resort to possibly buy the struggling ski hill.

Winter Sports Inc. is the publicly traded company that owns Big Mountain ski resort, one of Montana’s largest. Tom Cullen, manager of finances and development for the company, said Big Mountain had about three times as many skier visits as Silver Mountain did this ski season.

The company has a real estate development arm that operates in the Whitefish area, but that is the extent of the company’s holdings, he said. Buying Silver Mountain would be the company’s first expansion outside of Montana.

Cullen could not say if the company were looking at other ski resorts. But since last August, representatives from his company have been evaluating Silver Mountain’s potential.

In a statement, Winter Sports said it believes an acquisition would benefit customers, local communities and employees of both ski operations, as well as Winter Sports shareholders. Potential benefits include operating efficiencies and sharing of technological expertise between the two resorts, the company said.

Silver is owned by Swiss manufacturer Von Roll AG and the City of Kellogg. Von Roll is on the hook for about $17 million in bonds it backed to build the resort, and stands to write off most of those bonds after receiving a few million for the resort.

Attempts to reach Murph Yule, Silver Mountain’s broker with The Finch Group in Boston, were unsuccessful Tuesday. Silver Mountain officials feel they are very close to a deal and may have new ownership by May.

Cullen could not say how long negotiations might take with Silver Mountain officials.

Planning for Silver Mountain’s summer season continues, but the concert series likely won’t occur if new ownership is not in place soon.

Silver’s assets are its new equipment and the fact that just a little investment can improve the facilities and skier services on Kellogg Peak.

The drawbacks are higher operating costs than other resorts, mostly due to maintenance costs on the long gondola that takes skiers from Kellogg to the ski area.

, DataTimes