Aspen Snowmass, Colo., September 20, 2016 - East West Partners (East West), an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, LLC (KSL) and Aspen Skiing Company (ASC), announced today that they have formed a joint venture to acquire the Snowmass Base Village project from Snowmass Acquisition Company, an affiliate of the Related Companies (Related). The acquisition includes all remaining development parcels, all commercial spaces in Base Village, the Snowmass Hospitality property management company and the Viceroy Hotel, including the unsold condominium units within the hotel. Lot 2 (where the Limelight Hotel will be built), is also part of the purchase and will now be developed by the joint venture. ASC will purchase the Limelight Hotel and 4 Mountain Sports space from the joint venture when they are complete, and continues to be committed to operating both. The joint venture will move swiftly to commence construction in Base Village next spring, with East West responsible for all day to day operations. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2016.

While the sale will not close until later this year, work will continue to move forward full speed with pre-construction efforts on the Limelight Hotel and with design for the Community building and Buildings 7 and 8. The joint venture’s plan is to begin construction on the Limelight Hotel, Building 4 and and the events plaza/ice rink in the spring of 2017, with construction of the Community building and Buildings 7 and 8 projected to begin in the latter part of 2017.

“East West Partners is very excited to be a part of the joint venture with ASC and KSL. We believe the completion of Base Village will be a great addition to Snowmass, and we could not imagine a better group of dedicated and experienced partners to join forces with to make this happen,” said Craig Ferraro, managing partner, East West. “We thank Related for its diligent efforts to complete the Town Agreements and look forward to working with the Town of Snowmass Village in the future.”

“Aspen Skiing Company has long been committed to ensuring that Snowmass is and remains one of the best ski areas in the world, including providing over $100 million worth of on- mountain improvements over the last 10 years and ongoing efforts to develop the Limelight Snowmass. While we were working towards starting construction on the Limelight Hotel, it became apparent that by working in a partnership with KSL and East West, both leaders in the ski industry, the Base Village could become the truly special entrance to Snowmass that we have envisioned for years,” said Mike Kaplan, president and CEO, Aspen Skiing Company.

Andy Gunion from East West will be appointed to lead the joint venture. Ferraro said, “Andy has been with East West for over 12 years and has led the acquisition work on Base Village for us. He has a broad range of relevant experience from project management of our Westin resort in Avon to his most recent role as CFO for the company. Andy and his wife look forward to moving to the Roaring Fork Valley and enjoying the uncrowded ski slopes and world class mountain biking.”

“We greatly appreciate all of the time and effort that town staff, council and others have invested in Base Village to bring it this far and we’re looking forward to working closely with everyone to complete this critical project in a manner that the Snowmass community can be proud of.” said Andy Gunion.

East West is a Colorado-based national real estate development company which was founded in 1986 with the purchase of land in the then emerging resort of Beaver Creek. Since that time East West has developed more than 60 projects comprising more than $3.0 billion of residential and commercial real estate in both resort and urban locations across the country and has been awarded the Urban Land Institute's Award for Excellence three times, most recently for its work on the Union Station neighborhood in Denver.

KSL is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in Denver, CO; Stamford, CT; and London. Since 2005, KSL has raised approximately $7.4 billion in equity capital commitments. KSL’s current portfolio includes some of the premier properties in travel and leisure. In the United States, affiliates of KSL own the Miraval Group, the owner and operator of luxury spa and wellness properties, and the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif. KSL affiliates also own premier recreation and travel businesses, including iFly Indoor Skydiving, the world’s leading operator of indoor skydiving facilities, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, one of the leading ski resorts in North America, WellBiz Brands, one of the largest health and wellness franchise organizations in the United States, Ross Aviation, a leading owner and operator of Fixed Based Operations. In the United Kingdom, KSL affiliates own Cameron House on Loch Lomond, The Belfry in the West Midlands and Village – The Hotel Club, which owns and operates a portfolio of 28 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.kslcapital.com.

Aspen Skiing Company owns and operates the four mountains of Aspen Snowmass – Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk – as well hospitality properties The Little Nell, Residences at The Little Nell, Limelight Aspen and Limelight Ketchum in Ketchum, Idaho, In addition, Aspen Skiing Company owns and operates numerous retail and rental locations through the resort and the Roaring Fork Valley.