RANGELEY – The owners of Saddleback Mountain announced Thursday evening that they had reached an agreement with an investment fund to purchase the ski resort.
In a statement, the Berry family said that it had an agreement for the purchase and sale of Saddleback Inc. and the Saddleback Land and Timber Corp. to Arctaris Impact Fund. An investment fund based out of Boston, Arctaris first expressed an interest in the property in 2018.
“This beautiful mountain has so much potential and it looks like the Buyer has a strong plan moving forward,” Dawn Klein of Lakehome Group, the Berry family’s real estate broker, said as part of the statement. “We are excited for the acquisition to be complete for the Saddleback Resort community and the entire Rangeley area.”
Saddleback, previously the third largest ski mountain in the state and an employer for up to 300 people during peak winter season, previously announced that it would be unable to open for ski operations in the 2015-16 season unless it secured $3 million in financing to purchase a new four-person chairlift. That lift would replace a 51-year-old double chair that accesses the top of Saddleback Mountain.
The Berry family announced that it was actively trying to sell the mountain in 2015, with Saddleback later indicating that ownership was in “serious negotiations” with a potential buyer. In 2016, a community group announced its intention to raise funds to purchase and operate the mountain. Then, in 2017, agreements were signed with the Majella Group, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, to take over mountain operations, including hiring and replacing lifts. That sale was never finalized, however, and Majella Group’s CEO became mired in financial and legal issues in 2018.
The Berry family purchased Saddleback in 2003, investing more than $40 million in improvements and expanding both the workforce and number of visitors, to as many as 110,000 annually, over a 12-year period.
Thursday’s announcement did not include the financial details of the sale or any timeline regarding Arctaris’ next steps or Saddleback reopening.
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!
Let us hope the sale will go thru, and as a investment company they are not going to strip the assets but rather invest in the community.
Welcome news! The mountain is so beautiful. I hope they make it a 4 season recreation spot!
Excited to see the activities begin!
Carol
PLEEEEEEEZE,,, MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!
the best skiing snow in Maine was always at Saddleback.
I can’t wait,,. Pleeeeeeze HURRY UP ALREADY!!!
CYA THERE. WOO HOO!!!
Such Awesome news! Can’t wait to get back to Casablanca!!
This is fantastic news!