Roundtop parent Snow Time being sold for $76M

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The publicly traded Peak Resorts Inc. announced the deal Monday. Snow Time owns and operates Roundtop as well as Liberty Mountain Resort in Adams County and Whitetail Resort in Franklin County.

Roundtop emailed its customers about the deal on Monday morning.

“I am extremely pleased to pass along the stewardship of Snow Time and our three mountain resorts to Peak Resorts,” Irvin Naylor, Snow Time’s founder and chairman, said in a statement. “Having watched the progress they continue to make at the formerly family-owned Hunter Mountain, I view Peak Resorts as the perfect operators to take Liberty, Roundtop and Whitetail to the next level.”

Peak Resorts operates 14 ski resorts, primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, 13 of which are company owned. Most of the resorts are located within 100 miles of major metropolitan markets, including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and St. Louis.

Peak also operates Jack Frost and Big Boulder Ski Resort in the Poconos.

“The transformative acquisition of Snow Time offers a rare opportunity for Peak Resorts to dramatically grow our company by expanding the number of destinations for our Peak Pass holders in the Northeast while growing our presence in the very attractive and densely populated markets of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.,” said Timothy D. Boyd, president and CEO of Peak Resorts. 

Chris Dudding, a Roundtop spokesman, said he does not expect any immediate changes as a result of the deal. During the peak winter season, Roundtop employs about 1,000 people.

“At this point, it’s too soon to tell on any improvements,” he said.

The $76 million deal includes $70 million in cash and $6 million in shares of Peak Resorts common stock, which the company will issue to Snow Time’s stockholders. Snow Time generated about $50 million in revenue for the twelve-month period that ended March 31.

Peak said it expects to close on the deal before the beginning of the 2018/2019 ski season. At Roundtop, the winter season typically starts around the first or second week of December, though officials try to open right after Thanksgiving if the temperatures dip low enough to make snow.

Shares of Peak are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol SKIS.

More about Snow Time resorts

Snow Time’s three regional resorts welcomed more than 600,000 visitors during the 2017/18 ski season.

Roundtop, Liberty and Whitetail offer a combined 65 trails and more than 325 skiable acres, along with more than 20 food and beverage locations. 

Roundtop has 20 trails and two terrain parks. In a separate announcement Monday, Roundtop officials said there are preliminary plans to add a new beginner trail to the west side of the mountain.

Meanwhile, Liberty has 22 trails and three terrain parks, while Whitetail offers 23 trails, two terrain parks and a half pipe.

Snow Time also operates two 18-hole golf courses, one at Liberty and one at Whitetail. The company also has a 115-room hotel and 22,000-square-foot conference center at Liberty.