Vail Resorts is facing a first-ever hostile takeover attempt at its December board meeting, as angry shareholders led by Oasis Management seek to place their hand-picked candidates on the nine-person board, lobbying for a new way of doing business. VR CEO Rob Katz was born for this scrum, having spent 14 years on Wall Street before transforming the ski world, and we expect him to prevail. Notably, the CEO is adamant that VR hasn’t hired lawyers or bankers to assist in this fight, despite reporting that claims the opposite. In any case, this is a major distraction when valuable time is better spent focusing on the critical ski season ahead.
The background. The daily adverse publicity has shined a glaring spotlight on a company that has seen a woefully declining stock price along with decreasing sales for its signature Epic Pass, all following the worst winter ever in the West. It faces a slew of lawsuits, growing public opposition, and the ever-louder voice of experts who say the company, and the sport, face a declining future.
It is an under-recognized truth that VR’s pre-commitment Epic Pass model averted financial disaster for many of its western resorts during the snowless 2025-26 season. Also on the bright side, VR does pay a healthy dividend, though it’s one that stock analysts say may be incompatible with its balance sheet. In his own words, the CEO admits VR went from a company that could do no wrong to one that could do no right—and that he was initially ill-prepared to deal with it.
The best accounts of this ongoing proxy struggle appear in the Vail Daily, courtesy of John Taylor, a former Forbes bureau chief who later spent 20 years as a financial analyst on Wall Street before retiring in 2017 to Vail, Colo. Taylor knows his stuff, and Vail has a ready audience with its collection of smart, successful, and high-worth individuals who have time on their hands. They have elevated the dissection of VR’s strategy to an art form, and Taylor will fuel their need with regular updates.
The proxy fight. In this complex, ever-evolving shareholder vote, Vail Resorts hopes to preserve its nine-member board (which would certainly benefit from someone with a true ski-specific operations background).
Hong Kong-based Oasis, which as of mid-October owns 9.6 percent of the stock (up from 6.2 percent in mid-September), will counter with four candidates, led by short-lived Disney CEO Bob Chapek (as well as Picabo Street). The slightly mysterious Oasis is led by a former Israeli Defense Forces member and is not likely a savior for skiing; specific initiatives have been absent from its missives to date, other than a likely move to dismiss Katz and much of the board. Chapek, for one, is being paid a $100,000 monthly retainer for this fight and has been promised $500,000 in VR stock if he is successful in gaining a seat.
“Hearing that Oasis just bought your stock,” writes Taylor, “ranks only slightly better than hearing your dog has been hit by a car.”
The shareholder vote is sort of a democracy—the nine highest vote getters earn board seats—but by owner value only. That means Ron Baron, the founder and CEO of Baron Capital and the typically supportive owner of 18 percent of VR stock, will have the largest say, with votes commensurate to his holdings. One trusts that Katz has the support of longtime colleague Baron, along with the backing of other major shareholders, as the CEO navigates these rocky slopes. But a lot can, and will, happen between now and then.
The reality. It’s a shame that the fortunes of VR’s 42 owned ski resorts, with their millions of guests and thousands of employees, are at least partly shaped by a Wall Street proxy vote, but that’s the corporate ski world we live in. A main point of the opposition is forcing VR to sell one (or more) of its premium resorts; Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince would be a happy buyer of Park City Mountain, for example. This sale isn’t going to happen under Katz, who is committed to the ownership network and what he sees as its many benefits for consumers, the communities, and staff.
In the bigger picture, Katz created this mega-pass renaissance and a relatively brief window when skiing was viewed as a must-do, more inexpensive than ever. He was also feted as perhaps the most significant steward in the sport’s business history for doing so. Katz has repeatedly opined that VR will ultimately be known not for pioneering the Epic Pass, but for the experience it provides guests—leading to initiatives like the recently unveiled Epic Experience.
Once Vail Resorts (presumably) survives this challenge, it will be time to prove that.
Ed. Note (Nov. 3, 2026)
This piece was written in early October (and published in the November 2026 issue of SAM) prior to Vail Resorts’ Oct. 30 filing of its definitive proxy statement, Oasis Management’s response to that statement, and a separate statement from VR’s largest shareholder, Ron Baron. These largely confirmed Andy Bigford’s analysis of the situation, and also included some notable news relative to Bigford’s editorial that we felt were important to share.
In its statement, Vail Resorts suggested Oasis is working with Matthew Prince, the tech billionaire and Vail Resorts critic who has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Park City Mountain. Prince has since denied the allegation.
Oasis, in its statement, revised its board-member nominee slate from four to just two—Bob Chapek and Ashton Hudson (Picabo Street is no longer on the docket).
As expected, Baron pledged his support for Vail Resorts’ board-member nominees in his own statement.
