Vail buys Australian ski resort

2nd July 2015, by Abi Butcher

Vail Resorts has gone global, buying Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales, Australia

Vail Resorts has gone global with its purchase of Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales, Australia, for a mere $134.8 million (about £86 million). The company’s intention to buy Perisher was first announced last March, with final stages in May requiring approval by the NSW Government.

Vail has bought Perisher from media magnate James Packer at the start of the Australian ski season. Perisher is the largest and most visited ski resort in Australia with 47 lifts across seven peaks and a skiable area of 3,076 acres. It is a five or six-hour drive from Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra with a season running from June to October. The acquisition includes the resort areas known as Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Blue Cow and Guthega, along with Perisher’s ski school, accommodation, restaurants and bars, ski shops and transportation operations.

The acquisition also means that Perisher will be included on Vail Resorts Epic Pass, which allows skiers access to Niseko in Japan, Verbier in Switzerland and the Three Valleys in France, along with the US resorts owned by Vail Resorts.

Vail Resorts currently owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Canyons and Park City in Utah; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

• ski
• vail
• perisher

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