RANGELEY — The operators of Saddleback hinted on the ski area’s Facebook page that they could have an announcement next week on a possible sale or on whether the mountain will open this winter.

“We are in the midst of serious negotiations with a buyer that plans to open for the winter — hope to be up and running soon. Keep you posted next week!” was posted on the ski area’s Facebook page Thursday.

Since buying the resort in 2003, the Berry family has spent more than $40 million on improvements, according to published reports. They put the resort, most of its 121 condominiums and 400 acres on the market in 2012 for $14 million.

It’s for sale for $9.5 million with 2,070 acres.

The resort employs up to 300 people in the winter and has averaged 80,000 to 100,000 skier visits per year. Saddleback’s owners say the resort is the third-largest employer in Franklin County.

In July, owners of the ski resort said Saddleback wouldn’t open this winter unless the owners could get $3 million to replace the Rangeley Double Chair, an old, slow ski lift.

Saddleback General Manager Chris Farmer said the 51-year-old double chairlift that leads to all of its other chairlifts is creating a bottleneck at the base of the mountain. The Berry family wanted to replace it with a quadruple lift that would move twice as many people per hour.

When attempts to raise that money failed, the resort posted Sept. 2 that it was talking to potential buyers.

“Over the past 44 days, we have exhausted all reasonable financing options for replacing the Rangeley Double Chair with a quad,” according to the report. “Although we have not been able to secure financing for the quad, there has been significant interest in a purchase of the resort.

“As many of you know,” the post continued, “commercial transactions of this nature take time; buyers need to do their due diligence (homework) and the process requires a high level of confidentiality. The degree of confidentiality can be frustrating to all of us, because we would love to tell you what is going on but legal restrictions prevent us from sharing.”

More than 100 skiers and Saddleback supporters had posted on the company’s Facebook page. The story had also been shared nearly 150 times.