SANDY RIVER PLANTATION — Saddleback Mountain will announce new owners Wednesday.

Now the burning question: Who bought it?

A news release late Tuesday afternoon announced a mountaintop event Wednesday morning to meet “the future owners of Saddleback Maine along with members of the new management team” to “learn of this historic deal.”

It’s not at all clear who they are, and Ethos, the marketing firm that sent the release, isn’t talking.

The Saddleback Mountain Foundation, volunteers who had been raising funds to buy the mountain and conserve land around it, last week posted on social media that rumor was “our beloved mountain has been sold to a foreign investment group with big plans,” but President Peter Stein said he didn’t know if that was true and the group was forging ahead with its efforts.

Foundation spokeswoman Crystal Canney on Tuesday afternoon declined comment.

“We’ll have something tomorrow,” she said.

Saddleback Mountain, Maine’s third largest ski area, sat out the last two winters after failing to find funds for a faster lift or to locate a new buyer. There were assurances several times that news was on the way, only to be followed by silence that left the public assuming potential deals had fallen through.

The foundation announced plans last October to form a nonprofit, slowly purchase Saddleback and turn it into a community mountain. It has made headway to that end, according to Stein’s Facebook post, finding partners and raising $1 million in membership sales.

Bill and Irene Berry — who will be at the announcement on Wednesday, according to the release — bought Saddleback in 2003 and invested more than $40 million into upgrading the lodge, lifts, condominiums and trails. It’s been for sale since 2012.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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