Debt-laden Intrawest to sell Florida golf resort
Intrawest Holdings, owner of Whistler-Blackcomb resort, which is hosting ski events for the Vancouver Winter Olympics this month, said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell its Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida as it looks for ways to get out from under a heavy debt load.
Intrawest did not disclose the purchase price but said the sale, which was made to the Becnel family of Destin, Florida, will close in the first quarter of this year.
Intrawest, which is owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group (FIG.N), has been negotiating with lenders over the $1.7 billion debt Fortress took on when it bought the resort operator and real estate firm in 2006.
There have been concerns that Intrawest’s financial situation could disrupt the 2010 Games, which start on Friday. The Vancouver Organizing Committee has said it isn’t worried about an auction by Intrawest creditors of their stake in the company that is set to take place in the middle of the Olympics.
This is the third asset sale announced by Intrawest in the past three months. In January it agreed to sell its Panorama Mountain ski resort in eastern British Columbia, and in November it announced the sale of its Copper Mountain ski resort in Colorado.
via Debt-laden Intrawest to sell Florida golf resort | Reuters.