Deal clears way for sale of The Canyons to Canada's Talisker

The Canyons, a Park City resort that is the fourth-largest ski area in the United States and Utah's largest, will be sold to a Canadian real-estate partnership for $100 million, after negotiations late Friday night warded off a trial that was to have begun Monday over the sale.

Under the deal signed Friday night, Canadian group Talisker will pay American Skiing Company $100 million for all of the stock in ASC's subsidiary, ASC Utah, which currently owns The Canyons. The stock had been held by ASC and was not publicly traded.

"Now we have consent (to go forward with the sale), we will work diligently with Talisker to close the sale," said B.J. Fair, president of ASC.

"We're happy to get this resolved," said Bruce Moore, an attorney representing Wolf Mountain, the former owner of The Canyons, which sold the ski resort July 3, 1997, but has since owned the land upon which The Canyons operated.

Kenneth Griswold, managing member of Wolf Mountain Resort Co., said in a prepared statement that "Wolf will continue as the landlord of The Canyons."

"If Talisker can assemble the money necessary to close the transaction by May 31, 2008, and provide the money that Wolf has negotiated as necessary to operate the resort, then Talisker will replace the American Ski Company as the controlling company of the tenant at The Canyons," he said.

The parties had hoped for an agreement to prevent a five-day bench trial that was to begin Monday before 3rd District Court Judge Robert Hilder.

"I know you've been working very hard," Hilder told attorneys representing the former, current and future ski resort owner after the deal was signed Friday. "I appreciate it's been a lot of pressure on you."

The parties have been entangled in a half-dozen lawsuits, some of which have been combined. Most of the lawsuits were filed in the past 18 months in state and federal courts over The Canyons development, and Wolf Mountain's rights to object to development because of the "ground lease" it has with ASC Utah.

The trial next was to have determined whether The Canyons could be sold to Talisker. ASC Utah had been unable to get Wolf Mountain's consent to the deal and hoped Hilder would acknowledge a contractual obligation that Wolf had to allow the sale.