19 replies to this topic

[SkiBachelor]

So I was just reading Snowjournal.com when I came acrosse this article from the Denver Post:

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,3...2261303,00.html

I don't know if this is true or not, but when a company doesn't want to respond to a rumor/issue like this, something is definitely up. I'm probably going to guess that Vail Resorts is probably going to call it quits because the ski industry is flat and its resorts are now pretty much completely developed and its top owners will be very wealthy people if Vail Resorts finds a new buyer.

But who knows, maybe Intrawest will aquire some of Vails top resorts or could this be just an early warning sign and the ski industry has reached its climax?

[pyrotechnik]

its sounds legit, but I guess we won't know until vail verifies it

[Kicking Horse]

i know Let's all buy it :eek:

[SkiBachelor]

Yea Jeff, that's a great idea, but where are we going to get $700 million. Plus I don't think I would like to take possesion several ski resorts that Vail Resorts has already messed up.

Anyway, I kind of have a feeling that Intrawest would probably purchase Keystone or Beaver Creek and maybe Vail since its in the process of getting a new village?

[CAski]

This is odd. It doesn't seem like it would be a very good thing for the ski industry.

[KZ]

Well that sure is interesting. It seem like these days Vail was the only resort owner that wasn't in major debt. Maybe the owners are just getting sick of the business and want to screw everyone over to make some money <_<

I know they have made their resorts worth a lot of money, so it will be very interesting to see what happens.

[liftmech]

I heard the rumour on the radio today, and a VR spokeperson had a sound bite which amounted to 'no comment'. To me that lends credence to the rumour... Maybe a buyer would move the company away from the rather insular and 'we're better than all y'all' attitude it's been exhibiting. That and maybe they'll join the rest of Colorado and allow other resort employees to ski there, since I ain't shelling out $73 for the privilege of waiting in line. :---:

[snowboardguy]

I hope Intrawest dosent become a total ski resort whore! ---

[pyrotechnik]

i think thst no one will buy it for lack of funds, and vail will close down for good! ohhhh yes, just watch my prediction come true!

or maybe bill gates will buy it

[snowboardguy]

each of the resorts should just support themselves. They don't all need to be owned by one person

[liftmech]

Maybe so, but that's the way businesses operate and the ski industry is really no different. You can compare it to grocery stores, for example. You've got Safeway, which apparently owns several other chains beside its main stores. You've got Kroeger, which also owns City Market and King Soopers here in Colorado, as well as QFC and Fred Meyer in the northwest. There are your Vail/Intrawest/ASC comparisons. Then you've got the corner stores, the mom-and-pop operations which rely heavily on locals to survive, and you have the natural and organic stores which cater to a small (but growing) specialised market; these would be your Monarch or your Mad River Glen. Odd analogy, I know, but that's the way the industry is going whether we like it or not.

[ISMrider]

Sounds Fishy. If Vail is selling their resorts they would do it behind closed doors and not leak untill the deal is finished. If this is true I think interwest will buy most of their resorts.

[KZ]

I doubt they have the money to acquire them right now. It may just be an ownership takeover at first. Interesting stuff though.

[Allan]

Is Vail for Sale?

SAM Magazine--Vail, Colo., July 9, 2004--Vail Resorts has been actively seeking a buyer for some or all of its assets, according to reports in the Denver Post and the Vail Daily, based on several unofficial sources in Vail valley. Speculation about a possible sale has also been fueled by a recent runup in the price of Vail stock (currently about $19 a share) amid rising trading volume.

VR officials decline to comment on a possible sale. But the Post reports that sources claim VR has hired an investment banking firm to facilitate a sale. Locals identify the leading candidate as former Vail chief Mike Shannon, who ran Vail under the George Gillett regime in the late Ì80s and early Ì90s and who has expressed interest since then in purchasing VR. But several other investment groups are also said to be looking at the company.

There are conflicting reports about just what VR might be selling. Some suggest it could simply be the hospitality division, which has been "a disaster," one source told SAM--VR has invested $280 million in the division, which has produced no cash flow. Other sources believe the entire company is for sale.

[liftmech]

ISMrider, on Jul 12 2004, 08:46 AM, said:

Sounds Fishy. If Vail is selling their resorts they would do it behind closed doors and not leak untill the deal is finished. If this is true I think interwest will buy most of their resorts.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think Intrawest will be buying any stock in Vail anytime soon. I say this because they just finished forging a partnership with a leading luxury travel company, and more than half of their assets are not in the ski business. In addition, Intrawest does not own Winter Park, but is in a partnership with the city and county of Denver to operate the resort, and according to Joe Houssein (president) that is the model for future winter endeavours. Winter Park and Copper aside, Intrawest seems to buy resorts in widely scattered areas to avoid having more than one of them subject to a bad snow year. Now that I've said this, of course, we'll be going to Vail next week to see what our areas can share...

[floridaskier]

The hospitality division...is that like hotels and spas and all that?

[liftmech]

10-4. That's the moneymaking division, as once you've built the hotel or spa, you only have to pay the staff and income more than offsets that cost. There's supplies and taxes, of course, but in the main the hospitality division more than pays for itself.

[floridaskier]

But that's what Vail Resorts is having problems with...

[SkiBachelor]

From SAMinfo.com.

Quote

Vail, Colo., July 30, 2004--Two large buyout firms are finalists in the possible sale of Vail Resorts, according to a report in the Denver Post. Sources have told the paper that Texas Pacific Group and Henry Kravis, a principal in New York investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), both submitted proposals this week.

Sources said that VR's board might choose a finalist or decide not to pursue a sale within the next week or so. Reports estimate the company's value between $800 million and $1.4 billion. VR and its suitors have declined to comment, leaving it unclear whether the potential buyers would keep the company intact or sell the lift operations, real estate, and hospitality divisions individually.

[liftmech]

I heard the same thing today. It looks like we'll be seing a decision soon, then.