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A judge has given the green light to the sale of the airport in Stephenville.
That decision ends the tumultuous ownership of Ottawa businessman Carl Dymond, who made big promises that never took off.
On Thursday afternoon at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John’s, Justice Alexander MacDonald approved a bid by a major creditor to take over the operation.
BTG Capital had pushed the Dymond-directed numbered company behind the airport into receivership earlier this year.
An entity linked to the Calgary private equity firm filed the sole bid in the ensuing court-supervised sales process.
According to court filings, the new owner will be Stephenville International Airport Corp., which was recently incorporated in Alberta and is affiliated with BTG.
To date, the new owners haven’t granted CBC News interview requests about their plans. But corporate records say “the business which the company will carry on in Newfoundland and Labrador is airport operator.”
The transfer is expected to be finalized by the end of next week.
Dymond Group of Companies president and CEO Carl Dymond announced big plans for the Stephenville Airport at a media event held on Sept. 9, 2021. (Troy Turner/CBC)
In an interview with CBC News Friday afternoon, Dymond said he tried his best.
“I don’t see what we did as a failure here. It was an incredibly complex and high-pressure situation as you can imagine. And I know I put everything I had in trying to make it work,” he said.
“It certainly didn’t end the way I wanted it to personally end. But if that airport ultimately succeeds, that’s what matters for Stephenville.”
Nearly five years ago, Dymond unveiled ambitious plans for the Stephenville airport.
WATCH | New owner is linked to Calgary private equity firm:
New company gets green light to take over Stephenville airport
A judge has approved the sale of the airport in Stephenville following the insolvency of the company that promised to revive it. The CBC’s Rob Antle reports.
At a 2021 press conference, Dymond said he would pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the moribund operation, and create thousands of jobs.
He pledged to return scheduled passenger service to Stephenville, and build a manufacturing facility for massive futuristic drones.
But none of that materialized after he took over in 2023.
Last year, the airport was downgraded to a registered aerodrome before shutting down altogether after the power company cut off electricity.
Recent reports filed as part of the receivership process highlighted the “deteriorating” status of infrastructure, with evidence of “significant damage” and broken pipes.
“Restoration of full operations would require significant capital investment, the extent of which is presently unknown and speculative,” receiver Janes and Noseworthy wrote.