Two of the largest ski resorts at Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley USA and Alpine Meadows, are set to combine operations with an acquisition deal announced on Tuesday.
As part of the transaction, an investment affiliate of JMA Ventures will convert its ownership of Alpine Meadows into partial ownership of the combined company, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC. KSL Capital Partners, LLC, the owner of Squaw Valley, will be the majority owner of the combined company. Besides KSL earmarking US$50 million in capital improvements to Squaw Valley over the next three to five years, terms of the deal are not being released. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
“The idea of combining Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows is a very long time coming, but the actual transaction originated, very fittingly, on a chairlift,” Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley, said in an interview with the Sierra Sun newspaper. “It was on a spectacular California bluebird day when I happened to be riding a chairlift with Todd Chapman, president and CEO of JMA.”
While the resorts will offer combined lift tickets and season passes, no property rebranding or construction projects to physically connect the two resorts, divided by a ridge, have been announced.
The move comes as Lake Tahoe bids to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Squaw Valley resort was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.
While Squaw Valley features over 800 guestrooms on-site at six different properties including a ski village, Alpine Meadows does not have on-site lodging. Numerous hotels are in the immediate area surrounding the resorts.
Both of the resorts are located on the California side of Lake Tahoe.
