(Quebec) The Franco-Swiss group wishing to take over Mont-Sainte-Anne has submitted a written proposal to the Quebec government, which provides for an investment of $100 million and the creation of a $1,000 subscription giving access to four Quebec stations.
“Our plan is solid. Our ambitions are great. We are ready to make concrete, quantified and predictable commitments over time,” writes Franco-Swiss businessman Christian Mars, president of the Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec, in a letter obtained by The Press.
This missive, sent last Thursday to Pierre Fitzgibbon, François Legault and several other Quebec elected officials, details the plan of a large European group wishing to take over the management of Mont-Sainte-Anne (MSA) and Stoneham.
The Quebec Ski Mountains Company has already taken over Mont Grand-Fonds, in Charlevoix, and Mont Lac-Vert, in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. The company is a subsidiary of the Franco-Swiss e-Liberty group, which specializes in the sale of ski passes online.
These European investors have been expressing to the government for months their interest in taking over the MSA from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR). The Alberta company is the target of numerous criticisms from skiers and even elected officials, who denounce the underinvestment for years in the mountains. Criticism has picked up again after the fall of a gondola in December 2022.
RCR does not own the mountain, which belongs to the State, but rather holds a 99-year lease which allows it to operate the resort until 2093.
But this charge from the Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec comes in a rather unfavorable context: Quebec affirmed this week that it believes in an agreement with RCR to relaunch the MSA and publicly says it has no intention of expropriating the current manager.
100 million on the table
The Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec has already got its hands on two Quebec resorts. But the crown jewels, for her, are the MSA and Stoneham, both operated by RCR.
“We are proposing to the Quebec government to take over operations of the station, with a commitment to invest 100 million over the next few years,” wrote Christian Mars to the government.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec has been expressing to the government for months its interest in taking back Mont-Sainte-Anne from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.
The businessman assures elected officials that he has pretty deep pockets. The e-Liberty group has joined forces with the Baelen Group to create the Mountain Next fund, intended to acquire ski resorts around the world. The goal ? Become the third operator on the planet, behind Vail Resort and Alterra, owner of Tremblant.
“The Baelen Group alone has annual sales totaling more than $1.2 billion and $160 million in cash,” the letter states.
Mysterious local investors
The Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec has estimated that Mont-Sainte-Anne would need 150 to 200 million in investments. In addition to the 100 million that it says it is ready to invest, the Company indicates that it is having discussions with “a group of local investors” ready to inject 20 million.
Even if Mr. Mars’ letter does not mention the need for subsidies, we can deduce that between 30 and 80 million would be missing to finalize this plan and “restore Mont-Sainte-Anne to the desired level, which includes the chalet of the summit and the modernization of the entire snowmaking system.
The Company wants to “create a unified ski destination in eastern Quebec, having the critical mass necessary for continental, even global, visibility.”
With the MSA, Stoneham, Grand-Fonds and Lac-Vert in its portfolio, it would like to sell 30,000 season passes at $1,000, “for a product presenting 156 trails and 300 kilometers of cross-country skiing with a snow guarantee, between the regions of Capitale-Nationale, Charlevoix and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.”
CPR closes the door
This offensive is not the first to retake the MSA. The Le Massif Group had made a purchase offer to the mountain managers. RCR had indicated that its two mountains in the Quebec region were not for sale. Le Massif has since withdrawn its offer.
The Alberta company reiterated Wednesday that it has no intention of selling the MSA. “The mountain has never been for sale and it is not today,” indicates in an email to The Press Maxime Cretin, vice-president and general manager, Eastern region, of RCR.
RCR had proposed in 2023 a reinvestment plan in the dilapidated resort, once the jewel of skiing in the province. The plan was conditional on participation from the Quebec state.
“The investment plan that we announced in April 2023 is still relevant and currently still under study,” indicates Mr. Cretin. This investment plan was shared with representatives of the sector and was largely endorsed by all the stakeholders consulted. »
If RCR refuses to sell, another avenue is available to a possible buyer: the intervention of Quebec to expropriate the manager. But the Quebec government has always refused this solution, which the Minister of the Economy and Energy reiterated on Tuesday during the study of credits in the National Assembly.
“Mr Mars says we are going to take the MSA and we are going to invest. Perfect, but for me, unless we expropriate RCR from the MSA, which I will not do as minister, the owner must be able to work with others,” replied Pierre Fitzgibbon to a question from Liberal MP Frédéric Beauchemin.
Quebec had publicly closed the door to public investment to support RCR. But on Tuesday, Mr. Fitzgibbon opened the door ajar.
“The mountain clearly needs investments of around 100 to 120 million dollars, we are aware of that. We are even ready to help, to support this investment rigorously,” revealed the minister.
The minister said he was “relatively confident” that the RCR recovery plan would see the light of day. “But it’s not done yet. We are on the file. »
Then Mr. Fitzgibbon had this sentence, which must have pleased some skiers from the greater Quebec region: “Being a skier myself, Mont-Sainte-Anne, in my opinion, is the most beautiful ski mountain of Quebec, no offense to the people of Mont-Tremblant. »
Who is behind the Quebec Ski Mountain Company?
The Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec already owns two resorts in Quebec: Mont Grand-Fonds and Mont Lac-Vert. She would now like to get her hands on Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham. But who is behind this group? It is in fact the Franco-Swiss group e-Liberty, which defines itself as “European leader specializing for more than 17 years in the sale of ski passes online”. The company now distributes passes for more than 200 resorts in Europe, including Chamonix, Courchevel, Verbier and Val d’lsère. E-Liberty is a member of the Baelen Group. Already, the Compagnie des montagne de ski du Québec prides itself on having injected 20 million into Grand-Fonds. “In six months, with the help of Quebec companies Doppelmayr and HKD, we injected $20 million into Mont Grand-Fonds to purchase a detachable six-seater chairlift, a rail sled, new high-performance snow guns and a complete system access control”, indicates the company in its letter to elected officials.
The story so far
1994
The liberal government of Daniel Johnson privatized Mont-Sainte-Anne, until then managed by the Société des establishments de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ). The 99-year lease provides that the private sector will operate the station until 2093.
1999
The resort is sold to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR).
2020
Several incidents have occurred in recent years with the gondola, installed in 1989, the oldest eight-seater gondola in Canada. In 2020, a sudden stop left 21 injured. Two years later, an empty cabin came loose and fell to the ground.
2022
Le Massif Group made a formal purchase offer to acquire the station (an offer it has since withdrawn). Citizen groups, such as the Friends of Mont-Sainte-Anne, are demanding that Quebec intervene.