BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Vail Resorts has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 100 percent of Peak Resorts’ outstanding stock at a purchase price of $11.00 per share, pending regulatory review and Peak Resorts’ shareholder approval. The transaction is expected to close this fall.
Through the acquisition, Vail Resorts will add 17 U.S. ski areas located near major metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Louisville. The properties include: Mount Snow in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Attitash Mountain Resort, Wildcat Mountain, and Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire; Liberty Mountain Resort, Roundtop Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort, Jack Frost, and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania; Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine, and Mad River Mountain in Ohio; Hidden Valley and Snow Creek in Missouri; and Paoli Peaks in Indiana.
“We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to add such a powerful network of ski areas to our company,” said Rob Katz, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts. “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 this acquisition, we are also able to make a much stronger connection to guests in critical cities in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest and build on the success we have already seen with our strategy in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit.”
“Vail Resorts has a proven track record of celebrating the unique identity of its resorts, while continually investing in the guest and employee experience. For this reason, we are confident that our resorts and employees will continue to thrive within the Vail Resorts network,” said Timothy Boyd, president and chief executive officer of Peak Resorts. “We are very proud of our track record over the last two decades in building the breadth, quality, and accessibility of our resorts. We are thrilled that our guests will now have access to some of the world’s most renowned resorts.”
The aggregate purchase price for all Peak Resorts common stock is estimated to be approximately $264 million, which Vail Resorts intends to finance through a combination of cash on hand, its existing revolver facility, and an expansion of its existing credit facility. In addition, Vail Resorts will be assuming or refinancing Peak Resorts’ outstanding debt.
The transaction was approved by both companies’ boards of directors, and the Peak Resorts board of directors also recommended that Peak Resorts’ shareholders approve the transaction. The parties expect operations at all Peak Resorts ski areas to continue in the ordinary course of business. Upon closing, Vail Resorts plans to retain the vast majority of each resort’s employees.
