KSL Capital Partners Acquires Interest in Orlando-Based Orange Lake Resorts
Orange Lake Resorts, home to the Holiday Inn Club Vacations® brand, is pleased to announce that an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, LLC, (KSL) has made a significant minority investment in the privately held company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“KSL has been a leading investor in the travel and leisure industry. We are excited about how this partnership will expand the horizons of our Company and the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand,” said Tom Nelson, President and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts. “Our company has experienced tremendous growth, and we are making bold moves to position ourselves for the future, including the recently announced global exclusivity and 100-year extension to our strategic alliance with IHG®. Adding KSL, with their expertise in financial markets and travel and leisure, complements our growing capabilities and is another great step toward a bright future for our company and brand.”
Kemmons Wilson founded both Holiday Inn® hotels and then Orange Lake Resorts, establishing a hospitality legacy that has thrived for more than half a century. The Wilson family continues to own and operate Orange Lake Resorts privately. This is the first time the Wilson family has taken on an outside equity partner for the Company.
“For 37 years, the Wilson family has guided and shaped the growth of the Company. Our passion and desire to invest in this Brand and this great team has never been stronger, as evidenced by recent acquisitions in the Lake Tahoe area, New Orleans and the new corporate campus in Orlando. Partnering with a quality firm such as KSL will enable us to grow farther and grow faster,” commented Orange Lake Resorts Chairman Spence Wilson, Sr. “KSL’s history of investing in, as well as positioning and growing, travel-based businesses are unmatched and we are excited to see what we can accomplish together.”
“Orange Lake Resorts is one of the top vacation ownership companies in the U.S. and fits perfectly into our investment portfolio,” said Jared Melnik, Principal at KSL. “Our team has more than two centuries of combined investment and management experience in the travel industry. There is great potential in Holiday Inn Club Vacations today, and we see even more success in the future.”
In the last decade, Orange Lake Resorts has expanded from four to 28 resort properties, while growing its number of owners and Club members from 120,000 to 350,000.
Greenberg Traurig LLP acted as legal counsel to Orange Lake Resorts, while J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to KSL.
About Orange Lake Resorts
Orange Lake Resorts encompasses 28 resorts and 7,600 villas in the U.S., with more than 350,000 timeshare owners and 5,000+ employees.
Orange Lake Resorts, a leader within the vacation ownership industry with more than three decades of proven success, operates Holiday Inn Club®. The Holiday Inn Club Vacations® brand was created in 2008 through a strategic alliance with IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies. The flagship Holiday Inn Club Vacations property in Orlando, Fla., located next to the Walt Disney World® Resort, was established in 1982 by Holiday Inn® founder Kemmons Wilson. For more information on Holiday Inn Club Vacations or to book reservations, visit hiclubvacations.com. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/hiclubvacations or Twitter at twitter.com/hiclubvacations.
About KSL Capital Partners
KSL Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in Denver, Colorado; Stamford, Connecticut; and London. Since 2005, KSL has raised approximately $11 billion of capital across both debt and equity funds. KSL’s current portfolio includes some of the premier properties in travel and leisure. For more information, please visit www.kslcapital.com.
