Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN), based in Bloomfield, Colorado, is a mountain resort operator with subsidiaries that also handle real estate development and lodging. Vail’s mountain subsidiary operates the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, Heavenly in California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Vail Resorts Hospitality owns and/or manages a portfolio of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as a number of hotels and condominiums, including three destination resorts and six golf courses. The real estate segment of the company, Vail Resorts Development Company, holds, develops, buys and sells real estate in and around Vail’s resort communities.

Last week, the company announced it has entered into an agreement with East West Resort Transportation Holdings, LLC to acquire the resort ground transportation business, Colorado Mountain Express (CME), for $40.5M. CME offers ground transportation from both Denver International Airport and Eagle County Airport to Vail, Aspen, and Summit County. The agreement is subject to the execution of certain agreements, and regulatory and other third party approvals. The transaction is expected to close in late fall once all conditions have been met.

CME offers four types of service, including door-to-door shuttle business, point-to-point shuttle business with centralized drop-off at transportation hubs, private chartered vans and premier luxury charter vehicles. The vehicle fleet consists of approximately 250 vans and luxury SUVs. Rob Katz, chief executive officer for Vail Resorts, stated that the acquisition of CME is in line with the company’s mission of providing exceptional service for resort guests. By purchasing CME, the company has the option to minimize traffic and reduce fuel consumption, both of which are critical goals.

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