Intrawest ULC says it has an agreement to sell its interests in Florida's Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, the fourth recent asset sale by the company as Intrawest's parent deals with its heavy debt load.
Intrawest says it will work with the buyers, the Florida-based Becnel family, to ensure a smooth transition of ownership and it will be “business as usual” at the Sandestin resort on Florida's Gulf Coast, east of Pensacola.
Specific terms of the agreement, expected to close in the first quarter of 2010, were not disclosed.
The real estate includes cottages, homes, and hotel properties, as well as marina, shops and restaurants.
The deal comes after Intrawest's sale of the Squaw Valley ski resort in California, and the Panorama Mountain resort in Invermere, B.C., last month. It sold its Colorado Copper Mountain resort in November.
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 be put 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 Feb. 12.
The organizers of the games and Intrawest have said Whistler Blackcomb's operations won't be affected by the auction process.
