Vail Resorts on Friday issued a campaign-style proxy statement to shareholders touting current company board members ahead of the public company’s annual meeting and board election Dec. 14, for which activist investors have nominated rival candidates. Along with that and background on the sta te of the business came a repeated accusation that the activist investor group Oasis has been working with Matthew Prince to change Vail’s management.  “Oasis Management, in collaboration with Matthew Prince, has nominated four candidates who we believe lack the experience and judgment required to oversee this strategy and who would put our progress at risk,” Vail Resorts said Friday morning. Vail Resorts stock price has been on a generally downward trend for the past five years. Ron Baron, head of investment firm Baron Capital, which owns 18% of Vail’s stock, said he’s committed to voting in line with the existing company leadership. “I do not believe the Oasis nominees would serve the best long-term interests of investors and strongly oppose their candidacies. I also have serious concerns about Oasis’ coordination with Matthew Prince. I believe Prince’s self-interested demand that the company sell him Park City, one of its most iconic mountains, is short-sighted and destructive to long-term shareholder value,” Baron said in a statement. Throughout Friday afternoon, different forms were filed related to the upcoming vote. Oasis submitted its own report detailing a timeline of the issues it sees with Vail leadership and the process of nominating new board members this summer in a preliminary proxy statement. Oasis initially nominated four individuals for the board of directors, as Vail referenced in its early morning statement. But the Friday afternoon statement from Oasis included only former Disney CEO Robert Chapek and M. Ashton Hudson as nominees. Utahns Picabo Street, the legendary downhill skier, and Bryce Roberts were only listed in this statement as “initial” nominees.  In its Friday morning statement, Vail Resorts said two of the four initial nominees were introduced to Oasis by Prince only a week before. In a previous statement, they had identified those two as Roberts and Street.  Prince said he had “no idea” about the changes in nominations and that he hadn’t spoken with Oasis, Roberts or Street since the initial nomination.  “I’m just a guy, right? So I think it’s really funny that Vail thinks I’m as influential as I am,” Prince said. He has said he owns no Vail Resorts stock. Roberts had not responded to a request for comment by Friday evening. Because the filing from Oasis is preliminary, changes could still be made before the final voting materials are sent to shareholders.  Also on Friday, self-nominee Gregory Meyer submitted a statement to shareholders with background on his intentions.  “I am seeking a seat on the company’s board of directors, as I believe the board needs a stronger independent voice on execution,” Meyer said in a statement. Prince and wife Tatiana Prince co-own The Park Record. The post Vail Resorts touts company board members, accuses Prince and activist investors of ‘collaborating’ ahead of board election appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less