You might also like:
Ski resort operator Aspen Skiing Co. and private-equity firm KSL Capital Partners have formed a joint venture that will acquire Intrawest Resorts Holdings, in a move that will likely form the most formidable competitor to Vail Resorts.
KSL and Aspen will pay $23.75 in cash per Intrawest share, or about $945 million. The price is 40% more than Intrawest’s share price on Jan. 12, 2017, the last trading day before Reuters reported on the potential buyout.
The acquisition is slated to close by the end of September.
The joint venture will likely create the most expansive collection of ski resorts under a single owner outside of Vail Resorts. KSL owns Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows resorts. Aspen Skiing Co. encompasses Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands.
Intrawest operates six resorts totaling about 8,000 skiable acres, including Colorado’s Steamboat and Winter Park as well as Vermont’s Stratton and Quebec’s Tremblant.
Vail boosted its inventory to 13 resorts worldwide after acquiring British Columbia’s Whistler-Blackcomb last year for $1.05 billion, and this year reached an agreement to buy Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Resort for $50 million.
KSL chairman Michael Shannon was Vail Resorts’ president from 1986 to 1992. KSL CEO Eric Resnick is a former Vail executive.
Intrawest has been paring down its resort holdings since selling California’s Mammoth Mountain in 2005.
Existing Intrawest and MAX passes will be honored through the 2017-18 season.
For the six months ended Dec. 31, Intrawest’s net loss narrowed 12%, to $63.9 million. Revenue rose 6%, to $201.6 million.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com