More consolidation

[random1]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-intra ... SKBN17C15C" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just saw this, is it a surprise or was it in the works?

[hillbangin]

Interesting -

I think we're going to see a ton of this over the summer - lots of debt in the business - those companies are going to be bought or go bankrupt.

Maybe Aspen will buy Powdr?

That would not suck - Aspen, Killington, CMH

[GlacierBoy]

What will POWDR and Boyne do now?!
Ski Magazine posted an article today stating that the 2017/18 MAX Pass will still be honored at Steamboat but the Mtn. Collective will likely be expanded for next winter.....

http://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/l ... kiindustry" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is bigger better? $1.5 billion Intrawest deal changes ski industry
SKI MAG April 10

Is bigger better for the consumer? The ski industry has been beta-testing that for going on a decade with the ongoing consolidation of ski-resort ownership. Joining that trend is the mega-announcement today of a $1.5 billion deal by Aspen Skiing Company and KSL that they have acquired Intrawest Resorts Holdings, which owns Steamboat, Tremblant, and Stratton, among others, and operates Winter Park. Aspen and KSL formed a new investment group as part of the deal.

Stay tuned for changes ahead in season passes and other multi-resort offerings. But the Intrawest resorts will honor current passes for next season (2017/18), including the Rocky Mountain Super Pass and the MAX pass.

Steamboat, Colo., is the crown jewel in the Intrawest merger, consistently in the top five or so in skier visits each season, regularly topping the million-visits mark. With the acquisition of Tremblant and Stratton, the merger also expands the footprint of Aspen and KSL, a private equity firm, in the East.

With the Intrawest merger, Steamboat Resort is the biggest destination to join the Aspen resort family.

Combining today’s merger with Vail Resorts' portfolio, which now numbers nine major destination resorts (and counting?), that adds up to nearly 20 top ski resorts under management—in one form or another—of two giant resort operators.

With Vail Resorts and Aspen both calling Colorado home, the deal reignites an old-school state rivalry that had diminished in recent years as Vail Resorts expanded into the world's biggest ski operator. The merger also makes Colorado the hub of the red-hot battle of consolidation as Aspen/KSL gains traction against Vail Resorts in the fight for winter market share, and also in the key area of future growth of summer resort business.

Is that good for skiers and the ski industry? Then again, is that a moot point? Consolidation looks to be the dominant business model in today’s global economy—and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Undeniably, resort consolidation has lowered one part of the cost of putting skis on snow: ski passes, though there has been upward price creep lately. Vail Resorts’ signature Epic Pass program created the market and remains the industry standard, prompting other resorts to launch similar programs. Also on the good side of the ledger: Multi-resort passes do bake in incentives to travel to a variety of destinations, which is healthy for the sport.

But along with consolidation comes standardization, with both its cost-reduction benefits but also its inevitable merging of the ski experience across destinations. What once was unique is now one tile in a bigger corporate mountain mosaic.

In the ongoing competition between the Epic Pass and the Mountain Collective pass products, this merger should lead to an expansion of the Collective, which originated with the Aspen Skiing Company. With the recent addition of Sugarbush, Vt., and Snowbasin, Utah, the Mountain Collective now includes 16 resorts.

While not a condition of the merger, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, an affiliate of KSL, will become part of the new portfolio at the closing, but will continue to operate under its current management, according to the announcement. The mega-merger is scheduled to close in early fall 2017, and also involves other Intrawest properties, including Canadian Mountain Holidays, the biggest heli-ski operation in the world, and Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia.

“This transaction creates significant opportunity for Intrawest and delivers tremendous value to our current shareholders,” Thomas Marano, Intrawest’s chief executive officer, said in the announcement.

Indeed. The valuation of the Intrawest stock price in the deal is nearly a 40 percent premium over recently traded prices, Marano said.

This is just the latest announcement to rock the ski-resort industry. Earlier this season, Vail Resorts snagged Stowe, its first foray into Eastern skiing, in addition to the mega-move last summer of acquiring Canadian giant Whistler Blackcomb resort in another billion-dollar deal. For more on the march of resort consolidation, head here.

[GSKI]

Our guys are playing checkers and their guys are playing 3 dimensional chess. When they completely dominate what do you think happens to that cheap pass! You will be paying $20 to park.

[Highway Star]

What will POWDR and Boyne do now?!

Signs point to POWDR not spending any money on Killington. You heard it here first.

[PinnacleJim]

Denver Post article.

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/10/st ... -acquired/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GSKI]

Powder lost Park City due to a simple paperwork super cheap lease renewal snafu. The biggest blunder in the history of skiing to give up their sweet lease because they were not paying attention. Hard to have faith in their business acumen. I expect K to be gobbled up eventually. Then rates go up once the monopoly is sealed. The master plan outrunning these Powder dummies.

[ME2VTSkier]

https://vtdigger.org/2017/04/10/stratto ... -405602665

[SnoBrdr]

Powder lost Park City due to a simple paperwork super cheap lease renewal snafu. The biggest blunder in the history of skiing to give up their sweet lease because they were not paying attention. Hard to have faith in their business acumen. I expect K to be gobbled up eventually. Then rates go up once the monopoly is sealed. The master plan outrunning these Powder dummies.

Strange as we've seen rates go down when big mergers have taken place.

[rower]

Aspen partnership buys Mammoth Resort.

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/12/ma ... -partners/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hillbangin]

Any chance Killington is next?

[PinnacleJim]

Aspen partnership buys Mammoth Resort.

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/12/ma ... -partners/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Didn't see that coming. These guys are serious about competing with Vail Resorts.

[jimmywilson69]

Any chance Killington is next?

Powdr thinks their in this game already with their "portfolio"

Boreal Mountain Resort, California
Copper Mountain, Colorado
Killington Ski Resort, Vermont
Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, Nevada
Mount Bachelor, Oregon
Pico Mountain, Vermont
Soda Springs, California
Eldora Mountain Resort, Colorado

[SnoBrdr]

Mammoth Resorts to be bought by Aspen Skiing Co.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-m ... story.html

Couldn't tell if this was reported as there's been so many mergers of late.

[irab82]

It will be interesting to see what the new owners will do with their east coast resorts over the next couple of years. Does this put pressure on other resorts to sell and/or up their game? You would think it would but you never know. Wondering what Powder, Boyne and other multi-resort owners will be doing.