SAM Magazine-Scranton, Pa., July 11, 2006-Snow Mountain LLC, a consortium of Philadelphia investment bankers, developers, and accountants, has agreed to purchase Montage Mountain Ski Resort from Lackawanna County.

Sno Mountain LLC will pay a reported $5.1 million for the resort. Last month the group offered $4.1 million, but increased its offer to match a bid from Snow Time Inc.

Over the next five years, Sno Mountain proposes to inject a minimum of $14 million into Montage. It will spend $6 million to upgrade the lodge, snowmaking plant and other ski-area facilities. The upgrades include a planned addition of 180 new SMI snowguns to the resort's 26 currently functioning guns. Sno Mountain is also committed to building an $8 million water park in an effort to transform the area into a year-round resort. Sno Mountain will pay off Montage's $3.3 million debt as well.

The new owners hope to begin work on several projects late this summer. Tentative plan is to operate the ski area this winter and open the water park in 2007. The new team will retain the resort's 20 full-time staff and 450 seasonal and part-time employees, and hire an additional 150 to staff the water park.