American Skiing to sell Sugarbush

Six years after it was purchased by American Skiing Co., Vermont’s Sugarbush resort is changing hands again.

Summit Ventures N.E., a group of investors with ties to the Mad River Valley, made an unsolicited offer for the ski area, and American Skiing announced Monday that the two sides had agreed on a sale.

Neither would disclose the price.

“This resort has plenty of upward potential,” said Bob Ackland, one of the leaders of the investment group, and most recently the general manager of nearby Mad River Glen resort.

Sugarbush, located in Warren, Vt., is important to the Mad River Valley, which supports restaurants, shops and other businesses.

“As the resort goes, so the community goes,” Chris Jones, owner of the 100-seat Warren House Restaurant, said Monday.

“To have it back in the hands of some community-based people who care about what’s going on is fantastic,” he said.

Cash-strapped American Skiing announced last week that it had completed a restructuring plan that includes a $30 million investment from its majority shareholder, Texas-based Oak Hill Capital Partners.

As part of the restructuring, American Skiing plans to sell its Steamboat resort in Colorado to help reduce debt incurred during a major expansion that coincided with two disappointing ski seasons.

Sugarbush was not on the market, but Summit Ventures made an unsolicited offer that was in the best interest of the company, said B.J. Fair, American Skiing’s chief executive officer in Newry, Maine.

Summit Ventures was formed by four partners to buy Sugarbush. Its chief executive officer is Thomas McHugh of Warren, Vt., a longtime skier who once worked for Maine’s Sunday River, home of American Skiing.

The other partners are Win Smith and Joe Riemer, both investment bankers with second homes in the Mad River Valley.