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More refinancing at Vail Resorts

Cliff Thompson

AVON – Vail Resorts has refinanced it credit facility, paying off a $100 million term loan and expanding its revolving credit from $325 million to $400 million.The move will save the company a significant amount of interest each year, said Jeffrey Jones, chief financial officer. The company’s credit facility is a consortium of nine banks offering term loans and revolving credit which the company borrows and repays as needed. The company also extended the life of the credit facility until 2010.”The real benefit is any time we have excess cash we can pay down the revolver,” Jones said. “It will end up saving us a significant amount of cash interest cost and will reduce the company’s overall leverage.”Last summer the company took advantage of lower interest rates and refinanced its long-term senior subordinated debt. That refinancing saves the company more than $5 million annually, Jones said. The company’s largest shareholder, Apollo Advisors, sold its 17 percent stake in Vail Resorts to Apollo’s partners.The company owns Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone ski resorts in Colorado and Heavenly at Lake Tahoe. It also operates 10 luxury RockResorts Hotels across the country.It is in the midst of a $500 million redevelopment of Vail and Lionshead that will be completed in five years. That will add a new hotel, more parking and several dozen residential units.In its October 31 quarterly financial report Vail Resorts announced a 6 percent decrease in revenue to $87.9 million compared to Oct. 31, 2003. The loss was attributed to a decrease real estate income.The net loss, as is typical for the quarter, increased to $31.5 million – 24 percent over the previous year.Staff Writer Cliff Thompson can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 450, or cthompson@vaildaily.comVail, Colorado


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