Vail Buys Stowe, VT For $50 Million

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Stowe, VT. Stock image.

Vail Resorts announced Today that it has entered an agreement to buy Stowe Mountain Resort, VT for $50 million.

Stowe is one of the best ski resorts on the East Coast. ย This is Vails first east coast resort.

Vail Resorts now owns:

Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado

Park City in Utah

Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada

Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada

Perisher in Australia; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin

Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan

Stowe in Vermont.

VAIL RESORTS PRESS RELEASE:

BROOMFIELD, Colo.โ€”Feb. 21, 2017โ€”Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today announced that on Feb. 17, 2017, it entered an agreement to acquire Stowe Mountain Resort from Mt. Mansfield Company, Inc. (MMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), for a purchase price of $50 million, subject to certain adjustments. Stowe Mountain Resort will be Vail Resortsโ€™ first mountain resort on the East Coast and complements the Companyโ€™s network of 10 world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas.

This acquisition brings together Vail Resorts, the worldโ€™s leading mountain resort operator, with AIG Global Real Estate (AIGGRE), a best-in-class real estate developer, who share a common vision for the long-term success of Stowe Mountain Resort as the premier, high-end resort for skiers and snowboarders on the East Coast. Vail Resorts is acquiring all of the assets related to the mountain operations of the resort, including base area skier services (food and beverage, retail and rental, lift ticket offices and ski and snowboard school facilities) at Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. Other facilities such as the Stowe Mountain Lodge, Stowe Mountain Club, Stowe Country Club and certain real estate owned and held for potential future development will be retained by MMC.

โ€œWeโ€™re thrilled to add Stowe Mountain Resort to our family of world-class mountain resorts. With the investments in both mountain infrastructure and base area facilities that AIG has made over the years, Stowe Mountain Resort has become the premier, high-end resort for East Coast skiers and snowboarders. We look forward to working with AIG to continue enhancing the guest experience and to ensure the resortโ€™s long-term success,โ€ said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

Douglas Tymins, president and chief executive officer of AIG Global Real Estate, said, โ€œUnder Vail Resortsโ€™ management, Stoweโ€™s reputation as a premier ski destination with a commitment to excellent service will continue to grow. AIGGRE is looking forward to combining Vail Resortsโ€™ tremendous mountain operations capabilities with our continued commitment to the development of the Spruce Peak community.โ€

Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vt., has a long history of providing outstanding hospitality and adventure for its guests and has reinforced its internationally respected brand with world-class improvements both on and off the mountain. The resortโ€™s newest facilities and improvements include the Spruce Peak Adventure Center, the new Meadows Quad on Spruce Peak, Evolution Stoweโ€™s RFID tickets, passes and gates and the new Shops at Spruce Peak. Spruce Peak also has new high-speed lifts, new base facilities and gourmet restaurants. MMC will retain ownership of the renowned Stowe Mountain Lodge at Stowe Mountain Resort, a 312-room hotel and spa that has already been recognized as one of the greenest and most luxurious mountainside hotels in the world, and additional slopeside real estate opportunities.

This transaction is subject to Vermont administrative review. At closing, the purchase price will be adjusted for certain agreed upon terms, including a reduction (or increase) in the price by the amount that the resortโ€™s EBITDA exceeds capital expenditures for the period from Nov. 1, 2016, through closing. Stowe Mountain Resort is expected to generate incremental annual EBITDA in excess of $5 million in Vail Resortsโ€™ fiscal year ending July 31, 2018.

Operations at the resort for the remainder of the 2016-17 ski season will continue in the ordinary course as will future summer and winter seasonal hiring. Vail Resorts will be retaining the vast majority of the resortโ€™s year-round staff.

Vail Resorts looks forward to integrating Stowe Mountain Resort into its Epic Pass and other season pass products for the 2017-18 winter season, subject to the acquisition closing. With the Epic Pass, Vermont skiers and snowboarders will have unlimited access locally at Stowe at an attractive price as well as the best of the West at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in Tahoe; and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada.


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