Vail Resorts is expanding to the East Coast with a new agreement to acquire Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont for a purchase price of $50 million, subject to certain adjustments.
The deal includes the resort’s base area skier services, such as food and beverage, retail and rental, lift ticket offices, and ski and snowboard school facilities, at Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, while other facilities, such as Stowe Mountain Lodge, Stowe Mountain Club, Stowe Country Club and certain real estate will be retained by Stowe’s previous owner, Mt. Mansfield Company, Inc.
Vail said that resort operations of the remainder of the ski season will continue as usual, and that the company plans to retain the vast majority of the resort’s year-round staff. Next year, Vail plans to incorporate the resort into its Epic Pass and other season pass products. The transaction remains subject to Vermont administrative review.
The move marks the latest major North American acquisition for the company, which originated in Colorado. This past season it expanded into Canada through a merger with Whistler Blackcomb, offering limited access to that reason this ski season with full access planned for next year.
In the United States, the company purchased Park City Mountain Resort in Utah back in 2014, after which it embarked on a $50 million plan to upgrade Park City's facilities and connect it with neighboring Canyons Resort, which Vail also owns. When that plan is complete it will form the largest single ski area in the U.S., with more than 7,300 acres of skiable terrain.
In 2013, the company also acquired a number of smaller U.S. ski resorts, including Mt. Brighton, Michigan, and Afton Alps in Minnesota.
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