Yellowstone Club fetches $115m from Hub firm
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BILLINGS, Mont. - Montana’s ultra-posh Yellowstone Club is in new hands, following a $115 million deal that the new owner hopes will close the door on the resort’s much publicized descent into bankruptcy.
Eight months ago, the millionaires-only club was on the verge of liquidation, a victim of its prior owners’ excesses and the broader economic downturn that choked off the flow of money fueling the club’s rise.
On Friday, CrossHarbor Capital Partners of Boston bought the 13,600-acre private ski resort about 50 miles south of Bozeman at what was considered a bargain-basement price.
The firm’s managing partner, Sam Byrne, offered to buy the club last year for $470 million and had already invested more than $200 million in club real estate.
Byrne said Friday the club’s once-sterling reputation will need some polishing.
“It’s going to take time to win back the trust of members and the community and reestablish the brand,’’ he said.
The resort was nearly pulled apart last year during the bitter and high-profile divorce of its founders, Edra and Tim Blixseth. Later came revelations that the pair had drained tens of millions of dollars from the resort, helping push it more than $400 million into debt.
