Vail Resorts, Inc. announced Monday that it has entered into a merger agreement with the company that owns Mount Snow and 16 other ski areas in the Northeast and Midwest.According to a press release issued Monday, Vail will purchase 100% of the outstanding stock of Peak Resorts — the company that acquired Mount Snow in 2007.
Peak Resorts also owns Hunter Mountain, in New York; Attitash, Crotched and Wildcat mountains in New Hampshire; and ski resorts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and Indiana. Monday's announcement noted the purchase price for all of the Peak Resorts properties is estimated to be $264 million.
"We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to add such a powerful network of ski areas to our Company," Vail Resorts chairman and CEO Rob Katz said in Monday's press release. "Peak Resorts’ ski areas in the Northeast are a perfect complement to our existing resorts and together will provide a very compelling offering to our guests in New York and Boston."
With the Mount Snow acquistion, Vail will own three properties in Vermont: the company acquired Okemo Mountain in Ludlow last year, and Stowe Mountain Resort back in 2017.
"Vermont has a very positive brand associated with it, and I think that's one of the many things that's been attractive for Vail," said Molly Mahar, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association.
The announced sale means there is one more Vermont ski area that will be included in the Vail Resorts' season pass deal.
"It gives skiers another Vermont destination," Mahar said. “I think overall Vail is pretty progressive when it comes to marketing their resorts so I think we would see more skiers coming to Vermont.”
Vail said in the press release that it expects "synergies" to come from "the elimination of certain duplicative administrative functions and greater efficiencies brought by Vail Resorts’ size and scale." The company also said that over two years it will invest about $15 million in the Peak Resort properties.
The transaction was approved by both companies' boards of directors.
Update 1:34 p.m. Comments from Mahar were added to this post.
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