Colorado partnership completes deal to buy Mammoth and Bear Mountain

A new ski resort powerhouse officially formed Monday — still nameless but so big it will control 12 resorts with 20,000 acres of skiable land from California to West Virginia.

A Colorado partnership that is vying to be one of nation’s biggest ski operators completed its deal to acquire the resorts of Mammoth Mountain, Bear Mountain and Squaw Valley, among several others.

The partnership brings together Colorado-based Aspen Skiing Co., private equity firm KSL Capital Partners, ski resort giant Intrawest and Mammoth Resorts, which includes Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. The resorts attract about 6 million skiers a year.

The deal to combine the companies was announced in April but was completed Monday. In announcing the transaction’s closing, the new company said it expects to come up with a name and launch a new brand before the ski season begins.

Bryan Traficanti, executive vice president of KSL Capital, has been named chief executive of the new partnership.

Rusty Gregory, chief executive of Mammoth Resorts since 1996, has become a senior strategic advisor, while the resort’s chief operating officer, Mark Brownlie, adds the title of president.

Andy Wirth, who has been president and chief operating officer for Squaw Valley Ski Holdings since 2010, will retain those titles.

The partnership was the result of two deals: In April, KSL and Aspen Skiing took over Intrawest Resort Holdings, a Denver resort company, in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.

Two days later, the partnership sought to acquire Mammoth Resorts and Squaw Valley Ski Holdings. The terms of those deals were not disclosed.

The deal creates a new challenger to Vail Resorts Inc., the publicly owned company that operates 10 resorts and three urban ski areas in the U.S. and Australia.

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