LBO Enterprises President Leslie Otten yesterday acquired
five more northeast ski resorts creating the largest ski company
in North America, according to the BOSTON GLOBE. The $104M
merger has Otten adding VT's Killington, Mount Snow and Haystack,
as well as NH's Waterville Valley, and ME's Sugarloaf to
properties he already owned including ME's Sunday River, NH's
Attitash and Mt. Carnmore and VT's Sugarbush. The resorts will
now operate under the name American Skiing Co. Tony Chamberlain
writes that until the merger, S-K-I Ltd. was the largest public
ski company in the country, but LBO's buyout of S-K-I solidifies
Otten's vision that eliminates "regional infighting for the
skiing dollar." Otten: "We want to do what the industry itself
seemed incapable of doing individually" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/14).
USA TODAY's Gene Sloan reports LBO's move is the latest in a
growing consolidation of the $1.7B ski industry. Otten: "We're
amassing the horsepower to compete with the rest of the vacation
industry ... the Disneys, the islands" (USA TODAY, 2/14).
