Vail Resorts Board Says Two Oasis Nominees Were Introduced By Cloudflare CEO Prince, Who Wants Park City
The board's proxy letter ties Oasis' slate to Matthew Prince, and Baron Capital's Ron Baron says his firm will back management's nine nominees.
Vail Resorts' board told shareholders in a letter filed Friday that two of activist Oasis Management's four director nominees were introduced to Oasis by Matthew Prince about one week before their nominations. The board says Prince, the Cloudflare CEO, wants to break up its resort network so he can buy Park City Mountain, and it urges votes for its own nine nominees only.
The Prince connection
Vail Resorts, which owns and operates ski resorts and the lodging and real estate around them, filed its definitive proxy statement Friday. The board's letter names Bryce Roberts and Picabo Street as the two nominees Prince introduced, and says the link raises "serious questions about the independence and judgment" of all Oasis nominees.
The board says Prince has said publicly he would like an activist to take over the board and sell Park City Mountain to him. It adds that a ski-industry podcast with Prince was released within hours of Oasis filing its preliminary proxy, and that he later said on another podcast he had "insight" into some board conversations with Oasis. It also says he disclosed details of Roberts' board interview, which Roberts then echoed on social media.
The board counts self-nominated shareholder Gregory Syvert Meyer as a fifth dissident. It says it interviewed all five and found none qualified, and that four of the five lack relevant industry or meaningful professional experience.
Chapek singled out
The letter spends the most space on former Disney CEO Robert Chapek, another Oasis nominee. The board says that in his first interview with CEO Rob Katz he said he would not take part in a contested fight and was not forthcoming that he had already agreed with Oasis to be nominated.
It also questions his independence given the compensation he receives from Oasis for advisory services, and cites his service on the Masimo board and his decision to write a tell-all book about Disney.
Baron backs management
Ron Baron, founder of Baron Capital, whom the company calls its largest and 30-year shareholder, said: "Baron Capital will vote for Vail Resorts' nominees." He said he opposes the Oasis candidates and has "serious concerns about Oasis' coordination with Matthew Prince." Reuters reported Baron Capital owned 18% of Vail's stock at the end of June.
The board frames its case as a turnaround under way. Katz returned as CEO in May 2025, and the company says it has since overhauled pass and lift-ticket pricing and launched its Epic Experience growth strategy. It also says it repurchased about 5.22 million shares, roughly $1.04 billion excluding accrued excise tax, between fiscal 2022 and 2026.
Separately, Vail and Alterra are defendants in an antitrust suit alleging price coordination among ski operators, and both have sought dismissal.
Shareholders of record as of October 19 vote at the December 14 annual meeting, and the board asks them to use the WHITE proxy card.
Sources
- Vail Resorts — DEFA14A (2026-10-30) — SEC EDGAR
- CPI | Vail Resorts, Alterra Seek Dismissal of Ski Price-Fixing Suit, Deny Collusion Claims — pymnts.com
- Vail Resorts Files Definitive Proxy Expressing Confidence in its Board, Leadership, and Strategy to Deliver Long-Term Shareholder Value – Company Announcement - FT.com — Financial Times
- Vail Resorts' Biggest Investor Backs Company in Fight With Activist Oasis — Reuters
- Baron Capital backs Vail Resorts board in proxy showdown with Oasis — Yahoo Finance
- Vail Resorts' larger holder, Baron Capital, plans to vote against Oasis nominees | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
