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Two of the world’s most prominent ski brands have struck a SFr118.5mn ($136mn) deal, with US-based Vail Resorts agreeing to acquire the Crans-Montana ski resort in the Swiss Alps.
Crans-Montana is known for its gourmet food, glitzy shops and golf courses as well as winter sports. Sitting in the Swiss canton of Valais, roughly 2.5 hours from Geneva, it regularly hosts downhill ski races, the Omega European Masters golf tournament, and in 2025 it will host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Crans-Montana attracts about 3mn visitors a year, a fifth of whom come from mainly Italy and France.
Vail said it would seek to grow Crans-Montana, concentrating on marketing and operational initiatives, including “capital investments focused on maximising gastronomy efficiencies and improving and expanding snow-making capabilities”.
The deal should complete during the 2023-24 ski season, Vail said on Thursday. It expected the resort to produce approximately SFr5mn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the year to July 2025.
The acquisition will be Vail’s second in Europe after it acquired Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland in 2022. Crans-Montana will unite an extensive portfolio that includes Vail Mountain in Colorado, Whistler in British Columbia and three resorts in Australia, together with the RockResorts hotel brand.
