The ski areas of the American West are a familiar stomping ground for Wall Street titans, and a house in Aspen or Vail can be a prized asset.
But one billionaire financier, Louis M. Bacon, has bought an entire ski resort.
Mr. Bacon, the founder of the hedge fund Moore Capital Management, has agreed to buy Taos Ski Valley, a family-owned ski area near Taos, N.M. The deal, announced on Wednesday, would provide capital for needed improvements to the resort. The price was not disclosed.
An outdoorsman and conservationist, Mr. Bacon owns thousands of acres of land through his charitable foundation, a portfolio that includes Colorado, Long Island and the Bahamas. Last year, for example, he donated conservation easements to the Fish and Wildlife Service protecting 167,000 acres of ranch land in Colorado, and he agreed to put 21,000 additional acres into conservation easements this June.
Though he has made billions of dollars for himself and his investors over the years, Mr. Bacon was stumped last year by the debt crisis in Europe and returned about 25 percent of his main fund to investors. He is still a billionaire, however, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion as of September, according to Forbes.
In the ski deal, he is taking over an operation that has been in family hands since Ernie Blake opened it in 1954. Mr. Blake, a German immigrant who served on George S. Patton’s intelligence staff during the World War II, was inducted into the United States Ski Hall of Fame in 1987, two years before he died.
With the base area of the resort needing improvements, the descendants of Mr. Blake started discussing five years ago about what to do, said Adriana Blake, his granddaughter. They met with Peter Talty, a representative of Mr. Bacon.
This summer, Mickey Blake, the chief executive of Taos Ski Valley, proposed that the family sell to Mr. Bacon, who owns land in the area, Ms. Blake said.
“The family got together and had this big heart to heart about how as a ski operation we will never be able to make these improvements about risking the company,†Ms. Blake said.
In an interview, Ms. Blake emphasized that Mr. Bacon intended to preserve the “European, cozy and small†feel of the place, which has about 600 employees in the winter. The improvements would include buying new lifts on the mountain.
“Our mandate is clear and we are dedicated to advancing the Blake family vision and legacy of Taos Ski Valley, by continuing to provide an unmatched skiing experience while serving as an economic driver for northern New Mexico,†Mr. Talty said in a statement.
The deal is subject to approval by the shareholders of Taos, many of whom are related to the founder. Ms. Blake said she expected the deal to close by the end of the winter.
