Sugarloaf, Sunday River sold

Two of Maine best-known ski mountains are being sold.

Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley and Sunday River in Newry are being bought by New York hedge fund manager Och-Ziff as part of a multi-million-dollar deal that includes 14 ski resorts across the country and in Canada.

Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, Mount Sunapee in Newbury, New Hampshire, and Jiminy Peak in Hancook, Massachusetts, are also part of the sale.

Sugarloaf and Sunday River have been owned for nearly 10 years by CNL Lifestyle Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Florida.

Sugarloaf opened in 1950 and now has 14 ski lifts and 1,230 skiable acres, according to EPR Properties, the real estate investment trust that is loaning Och-Ziff the money to buy the 14 properties. Sunday River opened in 1959 and has 15 ski lifts and 820 skiable acres, according to EPR.

Both Sugarloaf and Sunday River referred questions Thursday to Boyne Resorts, the Petoskey, Michigan company that manages the mountains. A Boyne spokeswoman said her company has a long-term lease to run the resorts and the sale will not change that management, the way the mountains operate now or plans for the future.

“At this time we really just want to assure everyone that there is no interruption to resort operations that should be expected in any way,” said spokeswoman Julie Ard.

Steve Kircher, president of Boyne’s eastern operations, echoed Ard’s assurance. He said the sale is akin to a home mortgage being sold between banks.

“It’s not an event from a skier’s perspective,” he said.

CNL was valued at as much as $3 billion in 2012 with ownership of more than 100 water parks, ski resorts, marinas and senior housing developments. As part of its anticipated “exit strategy,” CNL has been selling off assets in the real estate investment trust.

CNL said last year that it was looking for a buyer for more than a dozen of its properties, including Sugarloaf and Sunday River.

EPR Properties, the Missouri company that loaned Och-Ziff the money to buy the 14 ski resorts, is also making some purchases of its own as part of the massive deal announced this week. EPR is buying one ski resort, 15 attractions and five family entertainment centers from CNL.

Under the deal with EPR and Och-Ziff, CNL will receive about $830 million in cash and stock. If it closes next year, the deal would be the largest single ski resort transaction in the history of the sport.

EPR announced the deal during a conference call with investors Thursday.

The other resorts included in the 14-property sale to Och-Ziff are: Summit-at-Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass in Washington, Brighton in Utah, Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Tennessee, Cypress Mountain in British Columbia, Crested Butte in Colorado, Okemo Mountain in Vermont, Mountain High in California and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.