SAM Magazine-Carroll Valley, Pa., Dec. 22, 2008-Liberty Mountain Resort and Conference Center, which had announced its intent to purchase neighboring Carroll Valley Resort and Golf Course, has abandoned the deal. After two months of careful review and diligence, the two companies agreed to continue operations under separate ownerships.

"It appears that the timing is not right for either of us," said Eric Flynn, president and general manager of Liberty Mountain Resort. "Perhaps sometime in the future we will revisit a possible acquisition, but for now we will continue to be good neighbors and help complement each other as separate companies."

The reversal comes just seven weeks after the merger was announced. In early November, Liberty said it planned to assume ownership on Jan. 1, and unite two properties that operated as one in the 1960s. The two have operated independently since the 1970s. \