East Burke, Vermont — After years of uncertainty, Burke Mountain Resort may soon have a new owner.
Paul Hayes of the Caledonian Record reports a group of local investors is finalizing a deal with federal receiver Michael Goldberg to acquire Burke Mountain. The group, Bear Den Partners, is led by Ken Graham. His father, Donald Graham, owned the ski resort during the late 90s and early 2000s, leading Burke through a financially volatile period. The head of Burke Mountain Academy is also listed as an investor in this group.
The owners also plan to work with a tenured operator group. The Schaefer’s, who operate Berkshire East, Catamount Mountain Resort, and Big Red Powder Cats, would operate the ski resort. This would be a great operator for Burke based on how well-run these other ski ventures are. For more details regarding the potential buyers and future investment plans, you can read the full piece by the Caledonian Record here.
Burke Mountain has been stuck in limbo since 2016, which was when a federal receiver took over the ski resort after the SEC (U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission) seized it. Authorities discovered that the prior owner, Ariel Quiros, was running what was basically a giant Ponzi scheme. For the past nine years, Leisure Hotels and Resorts have been operating the ski resort, while Federal Receiver Michael Goldberg has been trying to recoup the money to investors who were scammed by Quiros.
This is notably not the group that was making a lot of noise about buying Burke last month. In March, a group of investors that was affiliated with ski resort company Wisconsin Resorts Inc. reached out to local media outlets to express their interest in buying Burke, and that the federal receiver wasn’t responding to them. After that, federal receiver Michael Goldberg issued a public statement of his own, accusing that group of negotiating in bad faith when they were close to a deal in 2023. After a contentious hearing with locals, that group ended its pursuit of acquiring the Vermont ski resort. In that same public statement, Goldberg stated that he was finalizing a deal with a new ownership group. We now know who that group is.
Bear Den Partners reportedly plans to meet with the Burke Mountain Owner’s Association (BMOA) on Saturday to discuss the potential sale. A price has been agreed upon, and the two sides are currently working out the final details. The deal will need to be approved by a federal judge before the sale becomes final.
Image Credits: Burke Mountain Resort
