Pursuit will soon be a standalone corporation

By the end of December, Pursuit, the company that owns several lodges both inside and outside Glacier National Park will be its own company.

Parent company Viad announced in late October that it was selling its Global Exhibition Services business to True Link Capital for $535 million. The company will then focus on its “attractions” businesses, which locally include a host of lodges and properties associated with Glacier National Park.

“After careful evaluation, and with both businesses performing at very high levels, we believe that now is the right time to separate GES and create a standalone publicly traded Pursuit,” said Steve Moster, Viad’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Both Pursuit and GES have seen significant demand and achieved remarkable results. After a decade long growth journey, Pursuit is now an industry leader with the assets, resources and capabilities to stand on its own. Through this transformative sale, we intend to establish Pursuit as a pure-play, high-growth, high-return business, with the financial strength and balance sheet to capitalize on its substantial growth prospects in the hospitality and attractions space.”

Viad is the parent company of Pursuit, but once the transaction is completed, the company will relaunch only as Pursuit and its common stock ticker symbol to PRSU.

Locally the company owns a host of properties and amenities, including most of the commercial property in West Glacier, the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, the St. Mary Lodge, the Belton Chalet, the Glacier Raft Co., the Glacier Park Lodge and the St. Mary Lodge.

It most recently acquired Eddie’s Cafe and the Apgar Lookout Retreat in Apgar Village, which is inside the park. The company bought that from Brian Kelly in November.

The company has also made significant investments at its other properties in Canada and Iceland, it notes.

Over the last 10 years, Pursuit has completed 13 major what it calls “Refresh, Build, Buy” growth projects.

The investments include a $76 million acquisition of a majority stake in seven lodging properties in Jasper, British Columbia, Canada, $45 million acquisition of three lodges and one attraction in Alaska, the $36 million renovation of the Mount Royal Hotel in Banff, the $22 million renovation of the Banff Gondola, the $20 million construction of the Glacier Skywalk in Jasper, and the $13 million controlling interest investment to develop the Sky Lagoon in Iceland.

In addition, it bought a host of properties in West Glacier, including the commercial buildings from the Lundgren family in West Glacier, the Belton Chalet and Glacier Raft Company.

It also developed some of the Lundgren property into an RV park and guest cabins.

Today, much of West Glacier commercial property that caters to visitors is now owned by the company.

David Barry, President of Pursuit since 2015, will serve as Chief Executive Officer and President of Pursuit as a standalone publicly traded company following closing of the GES transaction. At that time, Steve Moster, Viad’s current President and CEO, will transition into an advisory role.