The Vancouver Business Thread

[misher]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Great too see Grouse return to local ownership, hopefully the flipper lost money:

Grouse Mountain changes hands once again after sale to Gaglardi family

...Now Grouse, which welcomes 1.3 million guests each year, joins the Northland Properties Corp., which also includes the Sandman Hotel Group, The Sutton Place Hotels, Moxie’s Grill & Bar, Denny’s Restaurants, Chop Steakhouses, Shark Club Sports Bar Grill, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and the Dallas Stars of the NHL.

“With our strong family and company roots in Vancouver, B.C., we are excited with the opportunity to make this acquisition,” said Tom Gaglardi, president & CEO of Northland Properties Corp. “We look forward to working closely with the existing team and leadership group, as well the community to ensure we maintain and evolve the iconic Grouse Mountain experience for all of our visitors.”

Gaglardi, a B.C.-based businessman, also narrowly missed out on buying the Vancouver Canucks after losing a high-profile Supreme Court battle to rival Francesco Aquilini in 2009. But now Gaglardi owns the mountain to which Milan Lucic brought the Stanley Cup after his Boston Bruins beat Aquilini’s Canucks in 2011, so there’s that.

It stands to reason that Grouse Mountain will also see some renovations under its new ownership. In the 10 years since Northland purchased Revelstoke Mountain Resort, the Gaglardis have poured hundreds-of-millions of dollars into the resort as part of a 15-year plan to turn the Mount Mackenzie resort into an international, year-round luxury getaway....

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news...once-again-after-sale-to-gaglardi-family

The Owner was local he lives near Oak and 45th. Nice people, they give out free tickets for Halloween and are great neighbors from what I hear. Though I guess by "local" you mean "white".

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by misher

The Owner was local he lives near Oak and 45th. Nice people, they give out free tickets for Halloween and are great neighbors from what I hear. Though I guess by "local" you mean "white".

And by "local' his connection to the China Minsheng Investment Group is what, accoording to you....?

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by whatnext

And by "local' his connection to the China Minsheng Investment Group is what, accoording to you....?

Misher also considers AstroTurf to be real grass.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by misher

The Owner was local he lives near Oak and 45th. Nice people, they give out free tickets for Halloween and are great neighbors from what I hear. Though I guess by "local" you mean "white".

The implications are clear.

Local does not equal funded by the CCP. Really, that's all that matters.

Cut all ties with anything to do with CCP and Vancouver/Canada. Period.

Bentall and now Grouse are a good start.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by rofina

The implications are clear.

Local does not equal funded by the CCP. Really, that's all that matters.

Cut all ties with anything to do with CCP and Vancouver/Canada. Period.

Bentall and now Grouse are a good start.

Is anyone surprised? Allegations of fraud concerning China Minsheng Investment Group's purchase of Grouse Mtn. Is the "Vancouver-based co-investor" the guy our chief apologist poster was parading as a "local"?

‘Project Snowflake’: Fraud claim hits sale of Vancouver mountain involving troubled China investment giant CMIG, US$100m loans and a US$381,000 private jet flight from Shanghai
-The lawsuit claims a co-investor was a victim of ‘fraudulent misrepresentation’ that deprived him of a 30 per cent share of the Grouse Mountain ski resort
-He says he paid millions towards the 2017 deal in which China Minsheng Investment Group took a 40 per cent stake
Ian Young in Vancouver
Published: 6:05am, 15 Feb, 2020

A controversial deal to buy the ski mountain overlooking Vancouver that involved the cash-strapped Chinese investment giant CMIG has been hit with allegations of fraud in a lawsuit that purports to reveal details of the 2017 transaction, dubbed “Project Snowflake”.

Among other claims, it says two executives from China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG) flew from Shanghai to Vancouver on a private jet chartered for US$381,000 to inspect the resort, in which CMIG took a 40 per cent stake.
It also depicts a complex web of transactions, supposedly involving a C$2 million (US$1.5 million) deposit paid on CMIG’s behalf but routed via the wife of a Vancouver-based co-investor.

The lawsuit’s claims are unproven. Lodged in the British Columbia Supreme Court on February 4, it seeks 30 per cent of the proceeds from the recent resale of the resort for an undisclosed amount. The original 2017 asking price for the iconic resort, whose floodlit slopes are visible across Vancouver at night, was C$200 million...

..The main target of the lawsuit is Kenny Zou, who fronted the 2017 purchase of the ski resort by CM (Canada) Asset Management and is a director of the firm. Zou, also known as Kang Yu Canning Zou, is accused of “fraudulent misrepresentation”.

Zou’s wife, Wei Dong, and various other companies of which Zou was a director, are also named as co-defendants, although CMIG is not...

..
Zou had told Canadian media in 2017 that CM (Canada) Asset Management was a “completely Canadian company through and through”, and that CMIG, although a 40 per cent shareholder, would be a “silent” investor in the running of Grouse Mountain.

But the president of CM Canada was Lawrence Liao Feng, who was also the CEO of CMIG International, the foreign investment arm of CMIG, the South China Morning Post revealed last year. Zou was CM Canada’s secretary. Both Zou and Liao were directors of the firm....

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/...fraud-claim-hits-sale-vancouver-mountain