News

DENVER—KSL Capital Partners, LLC (KSL) announced today that affiliates of KSL have completed the acquisition of six FBOs from BBA Aviation through a newly formed company to be known as Ross Aviation.  Jeff Ross, who is a seasoned industry executive with whom KSL has worked in the past, will serve as President and CEO of Ross Aviation.

The six FBOs are located at the following airports:

• Westchester County Airport, New York
• Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia
• Scottsdale Airport, Arizona
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Alaska
• Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, California
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport, California

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“In 2014, the predecessor to Ross Aviation sold 20 FBOs to Landmark Aviation.  This acquisition marks our return to the FBO business, a business we have been involved in for nearly 30 years.  We look forward to being able to serve many former customers as well as many new customers, bringing to bear the service standards and customer contact that is symbolized by the name Ross Aviation,” said Jeff Ross.

About Ross Aviation‍

Ross Aviation and its predecessor vehicles have been based in Denver, Colorado for 23 years.  The company solely focuses on serving private aircraft at fixed based operations locations at major national and regional airports.

About KSL Capital Partners, LLC‍

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 $7.1 billion in equity capital commitments. KSL’s current portfolio includes some of the premier properties in travel and leisure. In the United States, KSL owns the Miraval Group, the owner and operator of luxury spa and wellness properties, and the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif. KSL also owns premier recreation businesses, including iFly Indoor Skydiving, the world’s leading operator of indoor skydiving facilities, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, two of the leading ski resorts in North America, WellBiz Brands, one of the largest health and wellness franchise organizations in the United States, and is a significant shareholder of Whistler Blackcomb, the most visited ski resort in North America. In the United Kingdom, KSL owns Cameron House on Loch Lomond, The Belfry in the West Midlands and Village Hotel Club, which owns and operates a portfolio of 28 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.kslcapital.com.

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.

DENVER - KSL Capital Partners, LLC (“KSL”) announces that it has completed the final closing of its latest travel and leisure focused private equity fund, KSL Capital Partners IV, L.P. (“KSL IV” or the “Fund”), with total commitments of $2.677 billion, including the commitment of the General Partner. Fund IV took less than a year to raise, with demand from both existing and new investors significantly surpassing the Fund’s original target amount of $2.25 billion. Investors in KSL IV include a diverse group of state pension funds, corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and family offices.

“Similar to our prior private equity and credit funds, KSL IV will target investments exclusively in the travel and leisure sector globally,” said Eric Resnick, CEO of KSL Capital Partners. “KSL IV garnered significant interest from our existing investor base and accepted commitments from a select group of new investors. We are grateful for the support shown by all of our limited partners.”

KSL was founded by Eric Resnick and firm Chairman Mike Shannon in 2005. Since the firm’s inception, KSL has raised in excess of $7 billion in equity and debt commitments.  In addition to the founding partners, KSL’s investment committee members include Coley Brenan, John Ege, Craig Henrich, Peter McDermott, Martin Newburger, Dan Rohan, Bernard Siegel, Steven Siegel, Bryan Traficanti and Richard Weissmann.

ABOUT KSL CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC‍

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, Colorado; London, England; and Stamford, Connecticut. In the United States, KSL’s current portfolio includes the Miraval Group, the owner and operator of luxury spa and wellness properties, and the St. Regis Monarch Beach located in Dana Point, California. KSL’s recreation businesses include WellBiz, a health and wellness franchise organization, and Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, two of the leading ski resorts in North America. KSL is also the largest shareholder in ClubCorp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MYCC), one of the world’s largest owners of private golf and business clubs, and Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. (TSE: WB), the most visited ski area in North America. In the United Kingdom, KSL’s current portfolio includes The Belfry outside Birmingham and Village Urban Resorts, which owns and operates a portfolio of 28 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. For additional information, please see www.kslcapital.com.

STAMFORD, CT – KSL Capital Partners Credit Opportunities Fund, L.P. (KSL Credit) is pleased to announce that its affiliate provided a first mortgage to finance the acquisition of the Ventana Inn & Spa by an affiliate of Geolo Capital II LP and Wanxiang America Real Estate Group, LLC (collectively, the Sponsor).

The 59-room luxury resort overlooks the Pacific Ocean from its location directly off of Highway 1 in Big Sur, California. Amenities include a luxury spa, the Restaurant at Ventana with an outdoor deck overlooking the ocean, 8,745 square feet of meeting space, two outdoor swimming pools, Japanese hot baths, and a recently opened, 78-site campground located within a redwood grove.

Among the resort’s many accolades, it has been awarded Gold List status from Condé Nast Traveler almost every year since 2005 and was ranked the #8 resort on Travel + Leisure’s “Top 50 Hotels in the Continental U.S.” in 2014. The resort has undergone significant renovations since 2008, and the Sponsor is planning an additional multi-million dollar upgrade to enhance guest amenities and expand meeting and event space. Commune Hotels & Resorts will continue to manage the resort.

ABOUT KSL CAPITAL PARTNERS CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES FUND, L.P.‍

KSL Credit is the current credit fund for KSL Capital Partners, LLC (KSL).  KSL is an investment firm with approximately $7.1 billion in capital raised since 2005 specializing in travel and leisure enterprises across five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL makes debt and equity investments through its private equity funds and KSL Credit. KSL Credit provides first mortgage and mezzanine loans. KSL has offices in London; Denver, Colorado; and Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.kslcapital.com.

ABOUT GEOLO CAPITAL‍

San Francisco-based Geolo Capital (www.geolo.com) is the private equity investment arm of the John A. Pritzker family, continuing a four generation unmatched record of creating, investing in and building a diversified portfolio of consumer-focused companies. The Geolo Capital team has a long history of investing in these entities. From its legacy involvement helping to grow Ticketmaster, to founding Mandara Spa, to the company’s recent investment in Carmel Valley Ranch, Geolo Capital’s mission is to cultivate enduring world-class brands in four core industries – hospitality, entertainment, health and wellness, and consumer products. Geolo combines operational expertise, strategic vision and highly targeted capital to create long-term value for the companies in which it invests.

STAMFORD, CT – KSL Capital Partners, LLC (KSL) is pleased to announce that an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners Credit Opportunities Fund, L.P. has provided a $100 million first mortgage to refinance the 5-star, St. Regis Aspen Resort.

The 179-room resort is located at the base of Aspen Mountain in the heart of downtown Aspen, Colorado. 315 East Dean Associates, Inc., under the leadership of Stephane de Baets, acquired the resort in 2010, and subsequently invested approximately $50 million comprehensively renovating it to solidify its status as one of the world’s finest luxury properties. Among the resort’s many awards, in 2014, Travel + Leisure rated the St. Regis Aspen’s Remède Spa as the #1 spa in the world.

ABOUT KSL CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC‍

KSL is an investment firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises across five primary sectors including hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in London; Denver, Colorado; and Stamford, Connecticut, and provides both debt and equity capital solutions through its $386 million credit fund and $2.1 billion private equity fund, respectively. Since 2006, KSL has completed more than 30 investments in the travel and leisure industry, with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $5.0 billion. For more information, please visit www.kslcapital.com.