Bids for Ranch Rejected

None of the auction bids offered Saturday for most of the 10,000-acre Big Sky Movie Ranch were accepted by the firm that owns the famed film and television locale and had hoped to sell the land for more than $30 million.

Following the auction for four parcels totaling 6,711 acres 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles in Simi Valley, representatives of the Big Sky Movie Ranch Co. declined to accept any of the offers.

“We are going to continue the discussion process with a number of potential buyers who have expressed strong interest in negotiating for the property but could not be with us today,” said company spokeswoman Maureen Crow.

Crow would not disclose the number of bidders or the amounts bid for the acreage. She said about 50 people showed up for the auction.

The company has said it expects more than $30 million for the land, whose rolling hills, green plains and tree-shaded meadows have served as settings for films and such popular television shows as “Gunsmoke” and “Little House on the Prairie.”

Crow said bids were made on each of the four parcels, which ranged from about 500 acres to nearly 3,000 acres, but added, “It is our strong belief that the property is more valuable as a single entity.”

Several weeks ago, it was revealed that the Big Sky Movie Ranch Co., a partnership managed by Santa Monica-based Watt Enterprises, was negotiating a sale of the land to a West German investor, but Crow said Saturday the deal fell through.

Several other foreign investors have shown an interest in the property, Crow said.

In addition to the 6,711 acres for sale, Big Sky Ranch Co. plans to develop the remaining 2,700 acres.