The Aspen Skiing Co. has been on a spending spree this week, scooping up more than a dozen destination resorts . The investment is well over $2 billion dollars. Yesterday, SkiCo announced it is buying California-based Mammoth Resorts on Monday, it was Intrawest Resort Holdings.
It is actually subsidiaries of SkiCo and its investment partner, KSL Capital, that are acquiring Mammoth and Intrawest. Mammoth includes four ski areas in California and is the owner-operator of several other resorts. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The purchase price for Intrawest is $1.5 billion. Intrawest owns or operates six resorts, including ones in Steamboat and Winter Park, as well as in West Virginia, Vermont and Quebec.
The deal comes during a time in the industry where consolidation is commonplace.
SkiCo officials say the company is looking to increase its market share and expand its customer base.
Michael Berry is president of the National Ski Areas Association. While he is not prepared to comment specifically on what the recent acquisitions mean, he’s bullish on the industry and notes that SkiCo is positioning itself in the market during a healthy time.
“The industry has never been more profitable than it is right now and it’s across the board," he said. "And it’s not just the major destination resorts in the West. It’s medium-sized resorts across the country; it’s even mom and pops.”
Mammoth Resorts attract 2 million skier visits annually; Intrawest’s are under 1 million. SkiCo’s have hovered around 1.5 million annually for a decade.
