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.