A Vancouver-based firm that is more than 60% Canadian owned has bought the North Vancouver tourist attraction Grouse Mountain Resort for an undisclosed amount after the mountain was marketed for $200 million, the resort announced July 18.
Longtime owner Grouse Mountain Resort and new owner GM Resorts Limited Partnership (GM Resorts) announced that there will be no changes to staff or management, and that the mountain will continue operations as usual.
Media reports that pre-empted the news had incorrectly named the new owner as China Minsheng Investment Group, and that group does have an investment in GM Resorts. The exact amount of Chinese investment in GM Resorts, however, is unclear.
GM Resorts Limited Partnership was established by CM (Canada) Asset Management Co., Ltd. (CM Canada), which is a Canadian investment and asset-management company that has more than 60% ownership by Canadian investors, according to a news release from the resort.
That release outlined the sale and said that China Minsheng Investment Group subsidiary CMIG International is CM Canada’s international investor.
“The opportunity to make this purchase is not something we take lightly,” said Kenny Zou, who is a director of CM Canada.
“We understand that Grouse Mountain is treasured by locals and visitors alike. We look forward to working closely with the existing staff, management team, and the community to ensure we maintain the Grouse Mountain experience for all of our visitors.”
The purchase includes more than 1,200 acres of privately held land.
Canada’s McLaughlin family, which has previously owned B.C. companies such as Whistler Water, had owned the mountain as part of its 3 Angels Holdings Ltd.
Principals are West Vancouver’s Stuart McLaughlin and his Ontario-based sisters Julie McLaughlin and Joanne McLaughlin.
The siblings’ late father, Bruce McLaughlin started investing in the mountain in the 1980s, when Grouse Mountain was a public company. Bruce McLaughlin had made his money in Ontario real estate and he was looking to diversify his holdings.
Stuart McLaughlin started working at the mountain in 1988 and was a main driver in taking the company private in 1989, Stuart McLaughlin told BIV in 2012.
