Compagnie des Alpes in a one horse race to buy Les Deux Alpes

Ever since we reported wayyyyy back in August that the Les Deux Alpes ski area was up for sale, various groups have indicated their interest in the aquisition, but in the end the giant that is Compagnie des Alpes is now the only serious contender.

We reported in August that DAL (Deux Alpes Loisirs) was hoping to sell a majority share in the company to effectively hand over control of the ski area which includes Europe's largest skiable glacier reaching up to 3600m. It seems the ski area boasting strong summer and winter seasons, 225km of pistes over 430 hectares serviced by 55 lifts, was too good an opportunity for the Compagnie des Alpes to miss, especially with the 1.3 million skier days leading to a healthy turnover of some 40 million euros during the 2008/2009 season.

It seems the proverbial cat was let out of the bag by Olivier Klein, president of the bank Caisse d'Epargne des Alpes at a sports investment event recently when he said : "We are a shareholder with Compagnie des Alpes in the Three Valleys, La Plagne, Serre Chevalier..and perhaps elsewhere."

Such talk led the Compagnie des Alpes to admit that along with Caisse d'Epargne des Alpes and Banque Populaire des Alpes, the company had all financial structures in place and was indeed in advanced negotiations with DAL to buy the Isere ski area. So advanced in fact, that an official announcement is expected before the resort opens for the school holidays at the end of October.

In case you were wondering about Compagnie des Alpe's credentials, the company is the majority or total shareholder in 16 major ski resorts across France and Italy including Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isere, La Plagne and Courmayeur.

The company recently surprised the Four Vallees area in Switzerland by pulling out of Verbier after selling their majority share back to the commune of Les Bagnes.