(Host) The owner of the Mount Snow Resort wants to take the company public.
Peak Resorts of St. Louis has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a $40 million initial public offering of its common stock.
According to the SEC prospectus, Mount Snow is the biggest source of revenue for Peak Resorts among the dozen ski resorts it operates in the East.
Peak says proceeds from the stock offering will help pay off money borrowed for improvements at Mount Snow.
Some local officials are encouraged by Peak’s commitment to investing in Mount Snow.
But Mary McKhan of the Snow Industry Letter is cautious because of what happened to the resort’s previous owner.
(McKhan) "American Skiing Company went public and owned quite a number of resorts and over-extended itself to such a degree that basically the entire company blew up. So if you look at it from that perspective, it doesn’t seem like it would be a good idea to go public for Mount Snow or for any of the resorts that Peak owns."
(Host) But McKhan says Whistler in British Columbia was the most recent ski area to go public. And she says it seems to be holding its own.