Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the MV Coho ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria, is being purchased by its managers.
Black Ball announced that its “executive management team” had agreed to purchase the company from the Oregon State University Foundation.
The terms were not released.
President Ryan Burles, who is based in Victoria, pledged that there will be no scheduling or staffing changes as a result of the sale.
“We will stay the course,” he said.
Black Ball will remain a U.S. corporation, the company said in a written statement.
Owner and OSU alumna Lois Acheson, who died in August 2004, bequeathed Black Ball to the foundation as part of a $21 million gift made to establish an endowment for the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
The MV Coho ferry has plied the Strait of Juan de Fuca since 1959 and transports 400,000 passengers and 120,000 vehicles annually.
The company offers the only ferry service from Port Angeles to Victoria.
The new owners include Burles, CEO and Capt. John Cox of Seattle, Senior Vice President of Finance David Booth of Seattle, District Manager Rian Anderson of Port Angeles and Director of Marketing Ryan Malane of Port Angeles.
Donna Lee Schoen, Black Ball trustee and board member, said in a statement that the sale honors the wishes of Acheson, her aunt, to continue providing long-term employment and service.
“This is a wonderful resolution for all the parties involved,” she said.
“She [Acheson] would be very happy with the outcome.”
In 1948, at age 32, she became vice president of Black Ball Freight Service and, when the Coho was built, “helped steer the freight carrier into new territory,” according to the company’s website.
She took over leadership of the company when her husband, Robert Acheson, died in 1963.
Acheson’s agreement with the foundation allowed it to own the company, which it took over in 2005, for 10 years.
Her gift was the second largest ever made to OSU.
Burles said the foundation wanted to start the transition before 2015.
“The thought was always to look to transition before that 10 years was up,” he said, adding that the foundation became less interested in running a business.
Burles said the foundation began discussing a sale about a year ago and looked at the management team in particular to take the helm.
At first, they were surprised by the offer, he said, but embraced it as a way to keep the company “whole.”
“We have an excellent relationship with our employees,” Burles said.
“We’re a bit of a family.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb contributed to this report.
For more on the MV Coho: www.cohoferry.com
