The Scoop
Vail Resorts is working with takeover-defense bankers to help it assess its vulnerabilities to everything from labor groups to an outspoken billionaire to Mother Nature itself, according to people familiar with the matter.
No activist investors have made a play for the company, shares of which are down 14% over the last year. But there are signs it is preparing for such an event: In May 2025, Vail brought back Rob Katz as CEO, ousting his hand-picked successor. Katz since then has taken a number of steps to improve customer complaints — especially around line length and labor shortages.
Katz has also been contending with Park City local (and Cloudflare billionaire) Matthew Prince, who has been pushing Vail to sell him Park City Mountain Resort since last spring. In June, Prince told a local Colorado paper that he was willing to invest $500 million in the resort, and said he has gotten calls from activist investors about Vail Resorts. He believes that Vail should pursue an asset-light model, serving as a partnership facilitator rather than an owner of mountains.
“I’m not necessarily a fan of the asset light model, at least not for our company and in terms of where we’re trying to go,” Katz told Semafor in May. Some of Vail’s conversations with their advisors have focused on Prince’s interest in the company, according to a person briefed on those conversations.
A representative for Vail didn’t return requests for comment.
In this article:
Rohan’s view
A number of activists, including Third Point’s Dan Loeb and Land & Buildings’ Jon Litt, are big skiers or snowboarders. And chatter has been building for months that an activist investor might look to push in at the company.
But that gossip misses the bigger issue. The company is taking it from all sides, and can’t afford to be. It mishandled relations with its unionized ski patrol, leading to nationwide outrage during the busy holiday season, albeit prior to Katz’s return. And it has to deal with weather which handed the ski company its worst winter season in a long time. Some of those problems are self-inflicted.
Katz has been in the seat for more than a year now. Steady as she goes isn’t a solution, and the company needs to alight on one, and move quicker.
The View From Rob Katz
“I think it’s great to see the passion and enthusiasm that he has for us and for Park City,” Katz told me and Liz Hoffman on Semafor’s Compound Interest in May of Prince’s interest. “We have a lot of very wealthy guests and community members in a lot of our communities and they have strong feelings and they have views. And I think all of those are important for us to take in. I don’t think we’re going to run down and follow anyone’s individual perspective.”