Postalm ski area facing takeover: Strobl toll road company to become majority owner of Winterpark Postalm

Matthias Quehenberger, managing director of the Abtenau toll road company, described the development as sensational. „Das ist eine Sensation", he told the paper. The sale has now been wrapped up after long negotiations, even if individual details remain open according to the "Salzburger Nachrichten." The purchase price is said to be in the range of several hundred thousand euros.

Majority for Strobl toll road company

The future ownership structure provides for a clear majority with the Strobl toll road company, which is to hold 60 percent of the shares. The Abtenau toll road company is involved with 35 percent, and the remaining five percent is to go to local farmers. This would strengthen the regional anchoring of the ski area, it was said.

The background to the takeover is the planned shutdown of lift operations on the Postalm by 2028 at the latest. The so-called Gschlössl lift had been in operation only rarely in recent winter seasons due to a lack of snow. The existing cable car system has already been sold and dismantled, the "Salzburger Nachrichten" reported. The chairlift will definitely not go back into operation.

Background: From the Gschlössl lift to the takeover

With the new sponsor structure, winter sports on the Postalm are nevertheless to be continued. The Strobl toll road company, which according to its own figures handles 80 percent of the ascents to the Postalm, is bringing its existing infrastructure into the project. Negotiations on the concrete design of operations are still ongoing, according to the report.

The participation of local farmers is unusual for a ski area of this size. They are to hold five percent of the shares and thus benefit directly from the continued existence of the tourism offering. The exact design of this participation was part of the ongoing negotiations.

„Alle Gremien haben diesem Schritt zugestimmt", it was said from negotiating circles. This clears the way for a takeover that had repeatedly been considered uncertain in recent months. The region had feared that with the end of lift operations, winter tourism on the Postalm could also collapse.

Open questions about the future of the ski area

The "Salzburger Nachrichten" reported on the agreement in its Saturday edition. According to this, the decision was made on Thursday evening in Abtenau. Details on the future orientation of the ski area, such as possible investments or a new lift concept, initially remained open.

The Postalm between Strobl and Abtenau is a traditional ski area in the Salzburg region. With the planned takeover by the regional toll road companies and the integration of farmers, an attempt is being made to secure the area in the long term. Observers assess the decision as a positive signal for rural tourism in the Tennengau and the inner Salzkammergut.

It initially remained unclear whether, in addition to the Gschlössl lift, there are other lift facilities on the Postalm that could be preserved or reactivated. Questions about future piste maintenance, snowmaking systems, and the gastronomic offering had also not been answered at the time of the report. The negotiating partners did not wish to comment further on this.

What is certain is that ski operations on the Postalm will not be continued in their previous form. The chairlift, whose reopening had been discussed at length, will remain permanently out of service. What alternatives the new owners develop is to be decided in the coming months.