As I understand it, the buyers signed an agreement to buy it, and put down a deposit {amount undisclosed} last June. The agree allegedly called for a final closing within six months. The buyer had originally stated that it would happen much sooner. They also had an agreement in place that buyer could begin to work on readying the place, to hopefully open, or to at least catch up on some deferred maintenance.
The buyer hired some staff, and some minor work was visible. Then came questions as to a closing? When will they close? Is a closing scheduled? Have the closed? The only confirmed info was essentially "not yet." In what I have always found a bit strange, the Berrys "advisor" who is their former GM {and as he reminds folks, a lawyer} frequently posts on social media. He alslways has stated how "complex" a deal this is....going back three years. He's under an NDA . I get the impression that the original last date to close was in December and that the Berrys have granted extensions.
BUT, the ex GM states that to close, you need a check, so the first party to put a valid check on the table buys it. Strange. The people hired as senior staff by Majella have allegedly been pair for a month or so, then were not paid, and I have no idea if any are still working. The buyer allegedly signed a contract with Dopplemeyer for a new lift, and put down a deposit. I'm guessing that who EB-5 payments would have covered both deposits.
Basically there was great fanfare on June, some press and stuff posted on their Facebook page in the summer and early fall. And almost crickets since then. Which obviously inspires no confidence and a lot of doubt.
There was a pretty active non profit formed, but the ex-GM said all along that they had multiple buyers, and first one to make the deal would win. Not much of a race. Three years time.
I think that
@Tony S is on target re: the price. This was, in retrospect a terrible investment. Luckily the Berrys have a lot of resources and a VERY modest lifestyle. The love Western Maine, and Saddleback. Now they are pretty elderly. When they made the announcement that they would not open unless the were able to finance the new lift, three years ago, once again a lot of people questioned their judgement and advice.
They have lost, regardless of whether they untimately sell for $3Mil, $5Mil or more, a lot of money. Rumors are that they invested over $40Mil, post purchase. It never operated in the black. Sad.
So, I would GUESS, that they were "sold" on this deal by a slick team. People who I know seriously question the amount of due dilligence done on this. I hear rumors that the Berrys are a bit "frugal", in terms of how they went about this and what they may have spent on advice. This is not like selling a house in Western Maine.
Also rumors that they just wanted to put this behind them. Be done. Of course now, many are voicing that if they love their home state and Western Maine, they would have worked with the non profit and not with Majella. Lots of second guessing.
The whole thing is sad. One key learning is that Saddleback is NOT a really attractive business venture. It's been a challenge since it first opened. That is really a tough one to accept as the skiing can be great, and if the woods are full of snow, pretty phenomenal.
Never had 100K skier days. Tough location. So many people are pulling for it. Amazes me that the non profit can't swing this. Maine is a very interesting state. There is a lot of very "quiet" money there. A lot among people who one would think would like to preserve the vast land. Seriously, people who could cut a check without thinking for the full price.
We'll see how it unfolds. Many months ago, a friend who had one business meeting with this group a few years ago filled me in that "this guys have no money", and pointed me to the EB-5 opportunities section on their website. For a few people, that was a huge red flag.
Some say that Majella will never walk away from the deposits. Could be that they have no choice, and in fact already have.
Don't know whether their last extension has run out.
