Intrawest ULC has sold all of its real estate holdings at Squaw Valley ski resort in California, the most recent in a string of asset sales before the financially troubled resort giant goes on the auction block later this month.
Intrawest sold The Village at Squaw Valley, a former Olympic venue, to Squaw Valley USA, which already owns on-mountain operations at the Lake Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, Calif., last week.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The European-style village was built by Intrawest in 2002 at the bottom of the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, Squaw Valley USA.
"Squaw Valley USA and Intrawest are working closely together to ensure a smooth transition for stakeholders, team members and visitors to our unique mountain resort," said Squaw Valley USA chairman Nancy Cushing.
The transaction includes all of Intrawest's real estate holdings and operational assets, including lodging operations at two hotels and commercial assets with tenants including six restaurants and 20 retail shops.
The Squaw Valley deal, completed Jan. 29, was Intrawest's second property sale last week, coming a day after Intrawest sold its Panorama Mountain resort in Invermere, B.C., to a group of local investors.
Intrawest received notice on Jan. 8 that a foreclosure process was to begin after its owner, Fortress Investment Group LLC, missed payments in December that were due on a $1.4-billion (U.S.) loan.
Vancouver-based Intrawest will face an equity auction on Feb. 19 as Olympic skiers and snowboarders use its flagship Whistler Blackcomb resort during the 2010 Winter Games, which begin Feb. 12.
Intrawest has also sold several other assets in order to meet the payments, including a resort at Copper Mountain, Colo., in November, and two resorts in France.
Its lenders, a group led by Lehman Brothers and Davidson Kempner Capital, have been working with Fortress to restructure its debt and twice extended debt repayments.
Fortress' senior debt is secured by most of the Intrawest assets, including ski resorts across Canada and the United States.