Dave McCoy selling his stake in Mammoth

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines
Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a
flurry of speculation.
By Louis Sahagun and Roger Vincent
Times Staff Writers

February 24, 2005

After 68 years, the old man is ready to part with the mountain.

Dave McCoy, the legendary outdoorsman who founded the Mammoth Mountain
Ski Area, is putting up for sale his controlling interest in the Eastern
Sierra winter resort.

The news touched off speculation and uncertainty in the scenic town
about 300 miles north of Los Angeles along U.S. 395. Mammoth's skiing
and related operations employ nearly half of the area's 7,700 residents,
and host an estimated 1.4 million skiers annually.

"When you have a straight-talking, sincere and established entrepreneur
like David leaving the mountain after 60-some years, that's a jolt,"
said Andrea Lawrence, who runs an organization dedicated to striking a
balance between conservation and economic growth in the region.

On Wednesday, the company's 3,000 workers were notified that its
far-flung operations — 4,000 acres of ski areas at Mammoth and June
mountains, 185 ski trails served by 35 lifts, a lodge and more than a
dozen stores and dining venues — were on the block.

"As healthy and engaged as Dave is, the fact is he is 89 years old and
won't live forever," the company said in a statement. McCoy couldn't be
reached Wednesday.

Financial bankers hired by McCoy said a "handful" of companies had
expressed interest in the properties, which one analyst estimated could
fetch as much as $200 million.

Residents and local officials were in a tizzy about who the new owners
would be and what — if anything — they might do with the resort.
Speculation about prospective buyers included McCoy's chief executive,
Rusty Gregory; development partner Intrawest Corp.; Walt Disney Co.; and
actor Robert Redford.

Intrawest, a giant Canadian resort developer that teamed up with McCoy
in the mid-1990s, has first dibs on his stake. Intrawest spokesman Tim
McCurty declined to say whether the company planned to buy McCoy out,
noting that executives also could join McCoy in selling their interest
in its operations.

Intrawest has spent more than a decade investing in the development of
Mammoth Lakes and is the most obvious buyer, said ski industry analyst
Dennis McAlpine of McAlpine Associates.

"They've been developing a village there, and I would be surprised if
Intrawest would walk away," McAlpine said.

Vancouver-based Intrawest is one of the largest resort developers and
owners in the world. The company owns or is a partner in 14 mountain
resorts in North America and Europe, including the Village at Squaw
Valley USA in Northern California, the Village at Solitude in Utah and
Tremblant in Quebec, Canada. Intrawest earned $60 million on $1.5
billion in sales last year.

The sale won't affect Intrawest's plans to build a 230-room,
$140-million Westin hotel in Mammoth Lakes, McCurty said.

Another likely bidder is Colorado-based Vail Resorts Inc., one of the
leading mountain resort operators in the U.S. with properties in Vail,
Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, Colo., and the Grand Teton
Lodge Co. in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail lost $6 million last year on sales
of $721 million.

A spokeswoman for Vail Resorts declined to comment on the Mammoth
Mountain sale.

Intrawest and Vail are the only North American ski companies large
enough to buy Mammoth, said industry analyst William C. Marks of JMP
Securities in San Francisco.

Other potential buyers could include Wall Street investment firms and
large real estate developers.

When Vail paid almost $100 million for Heavenly Ski Resort in the Lake
Tahoe area in 2002, the facility had about 850,000 skiers a year, Marks
said.

Based on that figure and the potential growth of the Mammoth resort
after an expansion of the airport, "we think the Mammoth resort could be
worth twice as much as Heavenly," Marks said.

Investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin was hired to sell
McCoy's stake.

Mammoth Lakes has a general aviation airport but no regular passenger
carrier. City officials are working with the Federal Aviation
Administration in the hope of getting commercial flights approved.

Disney officials said they had no interest in investing in the Mammoth
Mountain operations. In the 1960s, the company's co-founder, Walt
Disney, briefly flirted with the idea of developing a mountain resort in
the Mineral King area in the western Sierra Nevada. Those plans ended
when Congress voted to make the area part of Sequoia National Park.

CEO Gregory declined to say whether he planned to make a bid to buy
McCoy's interest in the company. Redford couldn't be reached for comment.

The company's skiing and other operations, which include skiing and
mountain-biking lessons and the Tamarack cross-country ski lodge, are
profitable, generate about $115 million in annual sales and have little
debt, Gregory said.

He and McCoy had hoped to build a new hotel on the site of the Mammoth
Mountain Inn, and develop a hotel and retail project in nearby Juniper
Springs, Gregory said.

Every Friday night in winter, thousands of vehicles stream across the
Mojave Desert to a region that for decades has offered what many
consider the best skiing for Southern Californians. Mammoth gets up to
36,000 visitors on busy weekends.

It all started with McCoy, a snow surveyor for the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power. In 1937, he parked his Model A Ford on a
slope where snow fell early and hard on Mammoth Mountain, jacked up the
rear and tied one end of a rope to the back wheel and the other to a tree.

He charged 50 cents a person for what became the mountain's first rope tow.

There were only half a dozen people residing in Mammoth when McCoy
bought a snow plow to allow year-round access.

Over the ensuing decades, McCoy and his staff launched the area's first
water district, volunteer fire department, regional hospital, high
school and college.

McCoy is on a first-name basis with his employees, and is beloved by
local families who for decades have enjoyed a variety of special
privileges such as cut-rate lessons and skiing passes for children.

"We trust him; Dave has the best interests of the community and the
mountain in mind," said Mammoth Lakes City Manager Rob Clark. "This
community and this mountain are his legacy."

"I believe Dave wants an orderly transition," Clark added, "so that all
he's accomplished is preserved and enhanced."


Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times

Dave Stallard wrote:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines

Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a
flurry of speculation.

No mention of his kids - I thought they were active in the mountain?

BTW, I believe the Andrea Lawrence quoted in the article is Andrea MEAD
Lawrence, the great US ski racer and Olympian.

lal_truckee wrote:
Dave Stallard wrote:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines

Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a
flurry of speculation.


No mention of his kids - I thought they were active in the mountain?

That I don't know. I've never been to Mammoth, though I've always wanted
to go. I'm just not up for flying to Reno, then driving 165 miles. The
article mentioned that they had a general aviation airport (meaning
private planes), but no dedicated carrier.

Dave

lal_truckee wrote:
Dave Stallard wrote:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines

Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a
flurry of speculation.


No mention of his kids - I thought they were active in the mountain?

Warren Miller's latest flick had a nice segment with him talking to
McCoy about all the old times. Two guys in their 80s, still active and
in great shape. Shows that skiing is good for you.

Dave

Sven Golly wrote:
Dave Stallard wrote in
:


That I don't know. I've never been to Mammoth, though I've always
wanted to go. I'm just not up for flying to Reno, then driving 165
miles. The article mentioned that they had a general aviation
airport (meaning private planes), but no dedicated carrier.


Huge sticking point for Intrawest and most investors. Lawrence has been
one of the major reasons Mammoth hasn't been able to upgrade the airport.

I'd think that if they just flew commuter prop planes in, it wouldn't be
so bad. But, no doubt Intrawest wants direct jet flights from major cities.

Dave

Sven Golly wrote:
Dave Stallard wrote in
:


That I don't know. I've never been to Mammoth, though I've always
wanted to go. I'm just not up for flying to Reno, then driving 165
miles. The article mentioned that they had a general aviation
airport (meaning private planes), but no dedicated carrier.


Huge sticking point for Intrawest and most investors. Lawrence has been
one of the major reasons Mammoth hasn't been able to upgrade the airport.



Good for her...
Last thing Mammoth Lakes needs is destination resort qualities. Place is
fine the way it is (was, actually; with a couple of hostels right in
town for the ski bums who used to hang out.) Place can't be a Vail type
operation - the skiing is serious. I say leave it be.

Screw Interwest and the jackass they rode in on.

Dave McCoy used to represent all that was good about lift served skiing
- I think he went senile and let Intrawest screw him over and destroy
his vision.

But I have no opinion. Nevermind.

"Wayne Decker" wrote in message
m...

Snipped.....
Interwest does not have the
right, under the articles of incorporation, to buy Dave's shares--it does
have the "right of 1st refusal". Meaning that it can block sales to
anyone it does not want as a partner.

Never heard that definition of "right of 1st refusal". According to that IW
could just sit on its hands and block the sale indefinitely. The usual
context I have heard is that if Dave finds a buyer IW has the right to block
the sale and purchase it themselves at the same price.

C.

That was my understaning from the GM at June--but I could have
missunderstood.
Thanks.

--
I ski, therefore I am
"CParker" [email protected] This-rr.com wrote in message
...

"Wayne Decker" wrote in message
m...

Snipped.....
Interwest does not have the
right, under the articles of incorporation, to buy Dave's shares--it does
have the "right of 1st refusal". Meaning that it can block sales to
anyone it does not want as a partner.

Never heard that definition of "right of 1st refusal". According to that
IW could just sit on its hands and block the sale indefinitely. The usual
context I have heard is that if Dave finds a buyer IW has the right to
block the sale and purchase it themselves at the same price.

C.

lal_truckee wrote:
Dave Stallard wrote:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines

Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a
flurry of speculation.


No mention of his kids - I thought they were active in the mountain?

BTW, I believe the Andrea Lawrence quoted in the article is Andrea MEAD
Lawrence, the great US ski racer and Olympian.

Who else?

BTW, did I ever mention that I skied with her mom?
Janet Mead was still alive in the 60's and skiing at Pico
which was founded by she and her husband Brad in the 1930's.

A couple of interesting rumors have surfaced--but they are just rumors--I
would never call Dave at home to bother him or Roma with this stuff. One is
that Richard Branson (Virgen Airlines) and Robert Redford are interested.
Another is that Rusty Gregory (the GM @ Mammoth) is trying to put together a
funding package to buy it himself.

We'll see....stay tuned.

--
I ski, therefore I am
"Dave Stallard" wrote in message
...
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...home-headlines
Mammoth Ski Resort Founder Is Selling Stake After 68 Years
Dave McCoy's decision puts 4,000 acres on the block and sets off a flurry
of speculation.
By Louis Sahagun and Roger Vincent
Times Staff Writers

February 24, 2005

After 68 years, the old man is ready to part with the mountain.

Dave McCoy, the legendary outdoorsman who founded the Mammoth Mountain Ski
Area, is putting up for sale his controlling interest in the Eastern
Sierra winter resort.

The news touched off speculation and uncertainty in the scenic town about
300 miles north of Los Angeles along U.S. 395. Mammoth's skiing and
related operations employ nearly half of the area's 7,700 residents, and
host an estimated 1.4 million skiers annually.

"When you have a straight-talking, sincere and established entrepreneur
like David leaving the mountain after 60-some years, that's a jolt," said
Andrea Lawrence, who runs an organization dedicated to striking a balance
between conservation and economic growth in the region.

On Wednesday, the company's 3,000 workers were notified that its far-flung
operations — 4,000 acres of ski areas at Mammoth and June mountains, 185
ski trails served by 35 lifts, a lodge and more than a dozen stores and
dining venues — were on the block.

"As healthy and engaged as Dave is, the fact is he is 89 years old and
won't live forever," the company said in a statement. McCoy couldn't be
reached Wednesday.

Financial bankers hired by McCoy said a "handful" of companies had
expressed interest in the properties, which one analyst estimated could
fetch as much as $200 million.

Residents and local officials were in a tizzy about who the new owners
would be and what — if anything — they might do with the resort.
Speculation about prospective buyers included McCoy's chief executive,
Rusty Gregory; development partner Intrawest Corp.; Walt Disney Co.; and
actor Robert Redford.

Intrawest, a giant Canadian resort developer that teamed up with McCoy in
the mid-1990s, has first dibs on his stake. Intrawest spokesman Tim
McCurty declined to say whether the company planned to buy McCoy out,
noting that executives also could join McCoy in selling their interest in
its operations.

Intrawest has spent more than a decade investing in the development of
Mammoth Lakes and is the most obvious buyer, said ski industry analyst
Dennis McAlpine of McAlpine Associates.

"They've been developing a village there, and I would be surprised if
Intrawest would walk away," McAlpine said.

Vancouver-based Intrawest is one of the largest resort developers and
owners in the world. The company owns or is a partner in 14 mountain
resorts in North America and Europe, including the Village at Squaw Valley
USA in Northern California, the Village at Solitude in Utah and Tremblant
in Quebec, Canada. Intrawest earned $60 million on $1.5 billion in sales
last year.

The sale won't affect Intrawest's plans to build a 230-room, $140-million
Westin hotel in Mammoth Lakes, McCurty said.

Another likely bidder is Colorado-based Vail Resorts Inc., one of the
leading mountain resort operators in the U.S. with properties in Vail,
Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, Colo., and the Grand Teton Lodge
Co. in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail lost $6 million last year on sales of $721
million.

A spokeswoman for Vail Resorts declined to comment on the Mammoth Mountain
sale.

Intrawest and Vail are the only North American ski companies large enough
to buy Mammoth, said industry analyst William C. Marks of JMP Securities
in San Francisco.

Other potential buyers could include Wall Street investment firms and
large real estate developers.

When Vail paid almost $100 million for Heavenly Ski Resort in the Lake
Tahoe area in 2002, the facility had about 850,000 skiers a year, Marks
said.

Based on that figure and the potential growth of the Mammoth resort after
an expansion of the airport, "we think the Mammoth resort could be worth
twice as much as Heavenly," Marks said.

Investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin was hired to sell
McCoy's stake.

Mammoth Lakes has a general aviation airport but no regular passenger
carrier. City officials are working with the Federal Aviation
Administration in the hope of getting commercial flights approved.

Disney officials said they had no interest in investing in the Mammoth
Mountain operations. In the 1960s, the company's co-founder, Walt Disney,
briefly flirted with the idea of developing a mountain resort in the
Mineral King area in the western Sierra Nevada. Those plans ended when
Congress voted to make the area part of Sequoia National Park.

CEO Gregory declined to say whether he planned to make a bid to buy
McCoy's interest in the company. Redford couldn't be reached for comment.

The company's skiing and other operations, which include skiing and
mountain-biking lessons and the Tamarack cross-country ski lodge, are
profitable, generate about $115 million in annual sales and have little
debt, Gregory said.

He and McCoy had hoped to build a new hotel on the site of the Mammoth
Mountain Inn, and develop a hotel and retail project in nearby Juniper
Springs, Gregory said.

Every Friday night in winter, thousands of vehicles stream across the
Mojave Desert to a region that for decades has offered what many consider
the best skiing for Southern Californians. Mammoth gets up to 36,000
visitors on busy weekends.

It all started with McCoy, a snow surveyor for the Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power. In 1937, he parked his Model A Ford on a slope where
snow fell early and hard on Mammoth Mountain, jacked up the rear and tied
one end of a rope to the back wheel and the other to a tree.

He charged 50 cents a person for what became the mountain's first rope
tow.

There were only half a dozen people residing in Mammoth when McCoy bought
a snow plow to allow year-round access.

Over the ensuing decades, McCoy and his staff launched the area's first
water district, volunteer fire department, regional hospital, high school
and college.

McCoy is on a first-name basis with his employees, and is beloved by local
families who for decades have enjoyed a variety of special privileges such
as cut-rate lessons and skiing passes for children.

"We trust him; Dave has the best interests of the community and the
mountain in mind," said Mammoth Lakes City Manager Rob Clark. "This
community and this mountain are his legacy."

"I believe Dave wants an orderly transition," Clark added, "so that all
he's accomplished is preserved and enhanced."


Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times