Wintergreen sold to owner of Greenbrier Resort
By: Nate Delesline III | ndelesline@dailyprogress.com | 978-7243
Published: May 25, 2012
The leadership of Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County has formally agreed to an acquisition by the Justice family of West Virginia and James C. Justice Cos. Inc., owners of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
According to a statement obtained Friday, the merger agreement, approved by the Wintergreen Partners Inc. Board of Directors, will be presented to the Class A Equity members of Wintergreen on June 24 for approval. The transaction is expected to close before June 30.
Justice told the Charleston, W.Va., Gazette on Friday that the deal was valued between $12.5 million and $16.5 million.
"We intend to take this property to the next level and see tremendous opportunities as we work with the Wintergreen management and staff in developing new membership programs and vacation packages," company President and CEO James C. Justice II said in the statement. "The Wintergreen facilities are spectacular and the entire resort has a tremendous impact on the local and regional tourism industry."
Justice purchased the Greenbrier Resort and bought out another company's interest in the Greenbrier Sporting Club in 2009, according to Greenbrier's website.
Greenbrier officials on Friday did not return a phone message seeking further comment.
Located about an hour's drive from downtown Charlottesville, amenities at the 11,000-acre Wintergreen Resort include skiing, snowboarding, golf, tennis and a full-service spa and fitness center.
The Greenbrier Resort is located about two hours from Charlottesville. Its amenities include nearly 700 guestrooms, golf, a spa and a 103,000-square-foot casino.
In 2010, the James C. Justice Cos. purchased 4,500 acres in southeastern Albemarle County from MeadWestvaco Corp. for $23.75 million. The Justice Cos.'s interests include coal mining, timber and farming operations. So far, the company has remained mum on its intentions for the large tract of rural land in Albemarle.
"While we're very, very pleased, I really can't say anything else at this time," Hank Thiess, Wintergreen's general manager, said by phone late Friday.
A 25-year veteran of the resort and recreation industry, Thiess became general manager of the resort and ski area in 2008 and headed mountain resorts in Colorado and Maryland before coming to Virginia, according to Wintergreen's website.
Wintergreen employs about 350 people year-round and more than 1,000 at the height of ski season. The statement did not indicate how the merger might affect operations or employment at either resort.
L. Allen Bennett Jr., chairman of Wintergreen Partners Inc., echoed Justice's promise to take the Nelson County resort to the next level.
"We are delighted by the vision which the Justice family is bringing to the resort," Bennett said in the statement. "While we've had our own challenges over the past several months, we are gratified to have found an excellent business partner who has provided Wintergreen with the opportunity to grow, while at the same time preserving the family-oriented nature of our community."
Wintergreen's business-related challenges piled up at the beginning of this year. They included revenue that fell below expectations due to a mild winter, a now-settled state tax dispute over a conservation easement and Bank of America's decision to cancel the resort's $3 million line of credit. And in February, the resort announced layoffs for about a dozen full-time staffers, in an effort to reduce costs by $600,000.
Justice paid $20 million for the Greenbrier in 2009, saving the property from bankruptcy proceedings, according to the Gazette newspaper.
In January, the Greenbrier laid off 100 of its 1,800 staff members but indicated that the workers would be called back in the spring. Justice cited the decision as a necessary move to address a $13 million loss during the first three months of 2011. In April, some employees were rehired.
"All kidding aside, I'd rather take a shot to the stomach than to lay people off," Justice told the Daily Mail, another Charleston news outlet. Justice said the loss was due to the fact that there's little to do at the Greenbrier in the winter, with limited outdoor activities.
"If you're me, you have to do this," he said earlier this year. "You have to try within all in you to try to get the Greenbrier profitable so that it can sustain for a long time ... We have tried every marketing scheme imaginable to get people to come in January, February and March, and we just can't pull it off."
