Mt. Hood Meadows Withdraws Purchase Offer for Mt. Bachelor; Board Staying On Sidelines

BEND, OR-Mt. Bachelor’s shareholders will decide who obtains a majority share of the Central Oregon ski resort, and their choice is now down to two. Mt Hood Meadows withdrew its offer from the table yesterday, and Mt. Bachelor’s board of directors says it won’t be working on behalf of either buyer.

The buyers, who both have standing offers in front of shareholders, are Eugene, OR-based Pape Group, which already owns 23% of the estimated 1380 outstanding shares, and Powdr Corp., the Utah-based owner of several ski resorts. Pape Group is offering $21,100 per share. Powdr is offering $20,100 per share. Both offers end next month, Pape’s March 9 and Powdr’s March 16.

Pape’s offer includes an offer to pay as much as $25,000 a share for people who commit to selling by the aforementioned deadline but choose not to execute the transaction until 2005. Randall Pape, head of Pape Group and the former president of Mt. Bachelor Inc until he resigned last week to focus on the buyout, has spoken against the sale to Powdr Corp. because it would take ownership outside the state. Ironically, if Pape wins majority control of the company, it says it would hire Intrawest of Vancouver, B.C. to manage the resort.