From The New West Blog
Edra Blixseth Takes Over Yellowstone Club
By Matthew Frank, 8-15-08
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| Caption: Edra Blixseth in court in late May attempting to usurp control of the Yellowstone Club from her estranged husband Tim. Photo by Alexia Beckerling | |
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Edra Blixseth has officially taken over 50 percent ownership of the elite Yellowstone Club from her estranged husband, billionaire timber baron Tim Blixseth, Forbes reports.
It’s the result of a messy divorce settlement struck in early July that was delayed.
One week turned into five, as the deal to give Edra ownership of the Yellowstone Club took longer than expected. It finally closed on Wednesday this week. “The money market took a big hiccup, and that delayed me getting the financing,” Edra explains. “It wasn’t Tim’s fault. A lot of people thought that.”
The transfer of Yellowstone Club ownership also involved settling for $39 million a lawsuit brought by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond against Tim Blixseth. The New York Times has more on that.
Among other things, Mr. LeMond’s lawyers contended that Mr. Blixseth had withheld financial information and tried to buy Mr. LeMond and some other investors out of their share of the club for less than it was worth.
They also contended that Mr. Blixseth had diverted more than $420 million of company money into personal bank accounts and unrelated companies, using it to finance a lavish lifestyle, including a 20-seat Gulfstream corporate jet for $44 million, a Hawker 600 jet, two Rolls-Royce Phantoms and three Land Rovers.
The divorce is still not yet final, but Edra says she expects it to become final in a few days, once all the needed papers are signed and filed.
[End of article]Wow. Aint this sumpthin.
I just cain't tell you how Fascinated I am about this white woman's wealth and power.
As a black mother, I just marvel at her wisdom --what runnin the elitist colony of super-wealthy mountain burglers at the Yellowstone Club.
Now I respect that Newwest needs to earn it's dime. So with all do respect towards yall's advertizin market, I think makin' all this adoo 'bout the transfer of ownership and the catty concerns over the messy divorce is just a distraction.
How much water that development usin? How much those folks contribute back to the local, county, or state Tax base?
Ain't nobody talkin bout that. Mhmm.
Sho look like --now this is just my opinion Courtney, don't go shuttin' down the comment train or nuthin-- whitefolk caught up in they own wordspeak and legaleze to me. Mhmm.
I also wanted to say Hi to my son Craig.
Hi Craig.
Any of Craig's friends --but not his girlfriends-- are welcome to visit my blog: http://www.debbyjones.wordpress.com
Debby,
While I agree that the Yellowstone Club soap opera is fascinating like watching sausage production, your Ebonics act is silly.
While everything seems settled I only have a few questions. How much of the original land within the YC has been peeled away by Tim? In an email I received he states he is offering lots near the Rainbow on the mountain. So is Tim Blixseth really gone from the overall scheme of things. I would be interested if his guys(Sump,Huck and the other Vaseline men) are replaced and booted! I truly hope there will more transparency than previously. What will happen when the IRS gets done up there or did anyone even read Edra admitted that they were snooping around. New West did not publish that the rest of the settlement is due on November 15 and if it is not paid the plaintiffs will get 160 acres worth approx. 40 million. Math says that is only 250K per acre; what a bargain! Will the YC property ever be as valuable as it once was? Congrats to the plaintiffs and I personally think you all should have got more considering all the facts. I wonder what happened to the other equity holders(MM,CB,BW,MS)? Well, it sure seems like the personal jets were buzzing around the county the past couple of days.
As for Ms. Jones, have you been to this area in seen the impact of the last ten years of development? Obviously not, there has been huge tax gains and local revenue and jobs created. It has slowed some and prices will correct, but for the most part it has been great for the area. Remember, you can find out all the info you refer to with a little research since it is public record! Wake up and pull your head out of the sand!
well stated sharkbait. the bigger question remains. Who backed Edra? reports state that Edra claims delays were caused by credit markets rather than Tim, and that it took longer for her to get financing. With the banks losing on Tamarack, Promotory and the like, i don't see a lot of help there. Any word on who is backing her? Is it possible she simply traded Tim a chunk of land at Rainbow, or the WC properties for control? Which would explain her not throwing Tim under the bus in public. If she truly had financing squared away, why push the closing out until November? Could this be yet another stall while she shops the club? Whatever happend to Discovery? To Cross Harbor? To the other guy that offered her $? Now that I ask these questions, i really don't see how anything has changed.
Comment By betterknown, 8-19-08The battle is clearly not over. CrossHarbor apparently loaned in 25m to Edra to pay Tim off and to pay off 8m to Greg Lemond. Tm received 20m, but had to pay-back CrossHarbor 12m from the previous deal's deposit. It seems that a big loan is coming in sometime before November to the tune of 75m secured by Ms. Blixseth's assets. Tim received the small amount of cash, the Yachts, of which Toothfairy just sold at a loss for 10.5m USD given that they paid 15m. Keep in mind this was bought with the Credit Suisse Loan but now the club pays this money back. He also took Turks and Caicos, which is forsale and listed by http://www.inthemint.com. Tim also keeps Tamarindo, the 150 acres in Palm springs located close to Ms. Blixseth Estate, Western Pacific an other smaller things. Keep in mind Tim also took over lot 123 at the clu which was a foreclosure house valued at 10m, he also owns the overlook lots and rumor has it trying to keep close to the club in case Ms. Blixseth fails on her loan. Crossharbor has their teeth into the deal. Clarly with a 100m investment into Sunrise Ridge and 4 other houses which are on the market ranging from 7m to 17m but not to manyin site. Sam is trying to tell everyone he is an owner of the club but this is not true, he merely loaned money to Ms. Blixseth to seure the club an his investment. He has nothing to do with operations, does not sit on the Board and Ms. Blixseth is the only CEO. Discovery Properties is paying a reported 25m for a 10% stake in the club and taking over the management and operations, which includes the sales and marketing department. Discovery Properties is a leader in this business and has many deep pocketed clients to snap up land deals at the club.
Let the games begin, 13.5m is due to Greg on or before the 15th of November, Credit Suisse loan is ticking away at 8% with payments needingto be made so lets hope Sam B plan of attack comes to light, his lpan has always been to see both Blixseth fail, bankrupt the club and take over cheap. Clearly he is working against Ms. Blixseth and giving blood money is the first step.
betterknown-
there seems to be a great deal of chatter here by people who are spinning the facts. The only real issue here is how will an owner servicing over $500m in debt sell enough property to make the payments on said debt? They cant. Discovery does not care since they have an opperational stake no matter if the owner is Cross Harbor or Blixseth. Cross Harbor does not care since they most likely own the bonds anyhow, and will get the club in default. What i would like to know is how someone with such supposed intimate knowledge of the facts could overlook the obvious?
Cape Cod, you are correct about debt servicing and how that will get paid. There have been years at YC that sales were from 40 to 100 million. Although sales are no where to be found presently, I believe it could be possible if the Blixseths were gone completely. All the back door dealings including CIP Sunridge Partners with Blixseth shows that Cross Harbor may be in same pot of soup. Cross Harbor has been involved with Tim for some time. As a potential billionaire from Nebraska told me, " after spending what I did for due dilegence and the amount of crap surrounding the Club, I decided life was to short the deal with it and declined". These kind of statements only speak to the dishonest and slippery moves
of the Blixseths. I do believe your total of debt has been spun more than any I have stated and I think it might be a 100 million or so off.
Personally, the assets that the Blixseths have were finished or created with YC monies that were pillaged from the club. This is why it was odd when the accountant blew up. One less person to testify where the money went. Circumstance maybe, but I doubt it. I find it very difficult to believe anyone would encumber their own current assets for stimulus money. There is no money currently this is why there are delays and extended deadlines which have been missed several times already. Until all the fraudulent practices stop no one will have faith in the club. In a email they club stated 300 people attended Camp YC, but that must have included repeat guests and employees because it was pretty thin up there. Just another example of the misinformation from management.
I am sure the property near the Rainbow was move from the original club holdings to another LLC to screw the equity holders and profit for himself. Tim, all your criminal activity will catch up with you eventually. Karma is a wonderful thing!
I hope all the plaintiffs can hold their breath for a while, but I do wish the very best for you.
Other peoples finances and relationship problems are really none of our business. It is because of gossip that people's lives have become soap operas.
I hope the waves settle and business picks up for the YC and everyone in Big Sky. I have friends with jobs there and friends that are business owners and wish the best for them.
Hopefully you will stay lost in the woods! The Blixseths are the ones who brought all of this into the public realm. Besides, civil lawsuits are a matter of public record unless a gag order is issued. Coincidently, there was one in this case once numerous damaging facts surfaced. Tim tried to protect his image and it worked until he defaulted on the 2007 confidential settlement. He missed the 1/15/08
deadline for payment. Thus, making him a deadbeat. He deserves all he gets and more.
I do feel for the employees and business owners, but those are the risks of employment and business ownership. The employees should know who they are working for and representing. I know many employees and how they were treated. There is a reason the YC employee retention is a bit to be desired. How many employees
left after Bill Griffon arrived, or even the stumbling, bumbling Fitzgerald? These are just two examples of the type of pompous idiots that caused a decay of morale. I am sure there are a number of people who would gladly verify those facts! Another, Huckstein, fits right in with Tim's Napoleanonic little man profile. The bad ones deserve everything they get!
I, also, hope things pick up there for everyone who makes a living in Big Sky. Although, it is sky town without much to do unlike
many other resorts in the west. Good luck to all involved.
Sharkbait..
you seemed very angry...did you loose money? Where is all the anger from...listen, time will tell. Someone has to pay the bills and the only one who can do that is Sam B. Cross H is a bond holder and he has 100m in the condos....so no matter what the banks need to bepaid and the running costs. a good management team is needed as Sam B does not run clubs, thus Discovery is the best choice and the most successful but with no money how good can they be?
Sammy's been salivating at the thought that the Blixseths fail with the club. He's made a fortune identifying mismanaged assets, and then picking them up at a discount. If what BetterKnown states is true about Cross Harbor owning the bonds, then I smell a run around. Seems that Sammy may have strung them out last spring before pulling the plug, which put them even further behind on payments. Then he simply stepped back and watched the Bickersons fall even further behind over the course of the summer. Now, it seems that Sammy is at least partially behind Edra's latest win, ONLY to watch her fail to make the baloon payments that betterknown mentions above. I would venture a guess that Sammy gets the club that he was willing to pay $400k for last spring for a lot less this fall. No wonder he is considered a genius. The Yellowstone Club will be around for a long time SharkBait, so don't fear for the locals. Fear for the NewWest Bloggers who won't have anything to write about anymore.
Comment By Lost in the woods, 8-22-08At least there are large corporate companies mixed throughout the state to give Montana some competitive jobs and wages with health benefits. Sometimes you just need to take care of you and your family if you want to live in paradise...politics set aside. I don't work for anyone or share believes with the people I work for, I think of only my family and self. Otherwise I will become "sharkbait". I'd rather be the shark.
Comment By downtoearth, 8-23-08Everyone involved in this club deal is a liar. No one has been honest, and honesty is what the Club, it's members, and the local community need right now. I do not believe for a second that given the facts here, that Mrs. Blixseth has any intention of holding on to the club in the long run. If there is some sort of "white knight" out there, they ought to step forward and give an honest accounting of what we are should expect. just like our pristine surroundings, it would be a breath of fresh air.
Comment By M Gallagher, 11-06-08I would like to say that there has been alot of talk,and or gossip at the club for some time now. I am empolyed there and everyday we wonder if this is the day...either pay checks might bounce,or are we going to get the venders paid. I am sure that the club will be around a long time to come, though as an empolyee it is hard to come to work everyday worried that today might be the last. Discovery came to us and told us great things that they were about and left us to wonder where are they now? Nothing said of where they went and why they have not stuck to the promises given 30 + days ago. What we got was a big lay off.and another buff of blue smoke up our asses.
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