Pacific Group Resorts, owner of Ragged Mountain, has placed a $58 million bid for the Vermont resort.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Over half a dozen years after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission raided Jay Peak over an EB-5 Ponzi scheme, the government-appointed receiver has filed a motion to start the bidding process to sell the resort.
According to the August 1 filing, Pacific Group Resorts has placed a $58 million bid for the 2,500 acre resort, including the assumption of $5.8 million in debt. Pacific Group Resorts will have to provide a $3 million deposit if the bid is accepted by the court.
If court approved, bids will be accepted for a period of 30 days, starting at $59,750,000, in increments of $250,000. If another entity assumes ownership, Pacific Group Resorts will be paid a breakup fee of $1.25 million, plus up to $140,000 in expenses.
Pacific Group acquired its first ski area in 2007, when it acquired Ragged Mountain Resort in Danbury. Pacific Group took over Wisp, Maryland in 2012, followed by Wintergreen, Virginia and Mount Washington, British Columbia in 2015, and Powderhorn, Colorado in 2018.
The SEC took control of Jay Peak and Burke on April 13, 2016, alleging that Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger were running a Ponzi scheme that was defrauding investors. Stenger is currently serving at Devens FMC prison with a release date of September 15, 2023, while Quiros is at Pensacola FPC prison with a release date of October 27, 2026.
No government officials involved in the EB-5 immigrant investment scheme have been charged.
