RENO — Owners of the Lake Tahoe-area ski resort where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held have agreed to sell Squaw Valley USA to a Colorado-based investment firm that's pledging $50 million in improvements over the next five years, company officials said Tuesday.
KSL Capital Partners LLC entered into the agreement to acquire the majority of the shares of the Squaw Valley Development Co. in a deal that includes the California resort's ski operations, the Village at Squaw Valley and related real estate holdings, Squaw Valley President and CEO Andy Wirth said.
He said the sale price won't be made public, but he confirmed in an interview Tuesday that KSL agreed to $50 million in capital improvements over three to five years at the resort atop the Sierra Nevada, about 40 miles west of Reno.
Eric Resnick, KSL's co-founder and managing director, said the Denver-based firm specializing in travel and leisure was enticed by the history and potential of what has become one of the largest and best known ski resorts in the world since it opened in 1949.
Its founder, Alexander C. Cushing, was credited with helping launch the sport in the United States by landing the 1960 Winter Games.
"With Squaw Valley USA, Alex Cushing made a profound impact on the snow sports industry, and we're honored to build upon the resort's legacy," Resnick said in a statement.
KSL's properties include Vail Mountain Lodge in Vail, Colo., The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.; Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas; and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.
Widow agrees with plan
Wirth will remain in the position he assumed in August as president and chief executive officer. He said the deal has the blessings of Cushing's widow, Nancy Cushing. She stepped down as president and CEO this summer but remains chairwoman of the board. A number of family members continue to maintain holdings in the company.
"This has been a family owned and operated asset with a proud heritage, so there is a lot of very understandable passion for the place," Wirth said. "It is with a respectful eye for that past that we advance Squaw Valley into a whole new era."
KSL Capital Partners LLC entered into the agreement to acquire the majority of the shares of the Squaw Valley Development Co. in a deal that includes the California resort's ski operations, the Village at Squaw Valley and related real estate holdings, Squaw Valley President and CEO Andy Wirth said.
He said the sale price won't be made public, but he confirmed in an interview Tuesday that KSL agreed to $50 million in capital improvements over three to five years at the resort atop the Sierra Nevada, about 40 miles west of Reno.
Eric Resnick, KSL's co-founder and managing director, said the Denver-based firm specializing in travel and leisure was enticed by the history and potential of what has become one of the largest and best known ski resorts in the world since it opened in 1949.
Its founder, Alexander C. Cushing, was credited with helping launch the sport in the United States by landing the 1960 Winter Games.
"With Squaw Valley USA, Alex Cushing made a profound impact on the snow sports industry, and we're honored to build upon the resort's legacy," Resnick said in a statement.
KSL's properties include Vail Mountain Lodge in Vail, Colo., The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.; Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas; and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.
Widow agrees with plan
Wirth will remain in the position he assumed in August as president and chief executive officer. He said the deal has the blessings of Cushing's widow, Nancy Cushing. She stepped down as president and CEO this summer but remains chairwoman of the board. A number of family members continue to maintain holdings in the company.
"This has been a family owned and operated asset with a proud heritage, so there is a lot of very understandable passion for the place," Wirth said. "It is with a respectful eye for that past that we advance Squaw Valley into a whole new era."
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