Potential suitor eyes Steamboat Ski Area

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – A potential suitor for the Steamboat Ski Area complimented the resort’s management Wednesday but refused to say whether his company would make a bid.

“I’m very interested in businesses which are well run by a good management team and that don’t require that a whole lot be done,” said Mike Sweeney, a managing director of Minneapolis-based investment bank Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison Inc.

Only Tim and Diane Mueller, who own Okemo Mountain ski area in Vermont, have publicly acknowledged an interest in buying Steamboat. Sweeney has signed a confidentiality agreement with Steamboat’s owner, American Skiing Co. of Newry, Maine.

He said the agreement prevented him from discussing details about his company’s interest in the resort.

“I’ve been a guest in Steamboat several times and I think its a very special place,” Sweeney said in a telephone interview. He does not own property in Steamboat Springs.

American Skiing is selling Steamboat to reduce debt incurred during a major expansion that coincided with two below-average ski seasons.