America's Vail Resorts have bought Perisher ski area in Australia, the continent's largest, making it the first ski resort operator in over a decade to run ski areas on two continents.
The company says the purchase fits with its strategic aims, hoping to take a greater share of the estimated one million Australians who head to Europe and North America skiing each year, and to build on its core 'Epic' season pass which allows pass holders based all around the world to ski at resorts on five continents, year round, with the one ticket.
Vail paid AU$176.6 million (approximately £91m) to buy 100 percent of the stock in the entities that operate Perisher including the lifts, ski school, lodging, food and beverage, retail/rental and transportation operations, which holds a long-term lease and license with the New South Wales Government under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, which expires in 2048 with a 20-year renewal option. The deal has to be approved by the New South Wales Government.
Vail is currently in a period of rapid expansion, having closed a slightly larger deal to purchase Park City Mountain Resort in Utah six months ago, which it is currently linking to the neighbouring ski area of Canyons, which it also operates, to create the new largest ski area in the US next season.
In recent years it has also purchased more ski areas in California and in the US Mid-West to help feed business to its Western US destination resorts – it now owns 11 resorts. Whether it is the world's largest ski resort operator is subject to debate – this title usually considered to be held by the French Compagnie des Alpes which runs many of the leading ski areas in France.
A dozen or so more leading US resorts have recently been put on the market by a large investment company which owns them all so it remains to be seen whether vail will further expand its empire during 2015.