The ski resort behemoth, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase Whistler Blackcomb (British Columbia, Canada), the largest ski area in North America and often considered one of the finest resorts in the West. Whistler Blackcomb shareholders are being offered $676 million (£518m) of cash and Vail stock worth $715 million (£549m), making the deal worth almost $1.4 billion (£1bn).
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Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal.
The company was formed in 1997 through the merger of Whistler and Blackcomb mountain resorts.
Now, the company has purchased its first-ever property north of the border in Whistler Blackcomb, and in doing so, acquired the largest ski resort in all of North America. According to Tourism Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb sees more than 2 million visitors per year and offers skiers and riders a combined 8,171 skiable acres and 5,280 feet of vertical. It will now be extended to Whistler Blackcomb.
“Whistler Blackcomb has enjoyed tremendous success by delivering an exceptional mountain experience for our passionate and loyal guests – both locally and from around the world”, Brownlie said in a statement. In addition to purchasing Park City Mountain Resort and Perisher, the company added Wisconsin’s Wilmot Mountain earlier this year.
“We look forward to working with Dave and the entire Whistler Blackcomb team as we support their efforts to continue the great progress that has made Whistler Blackcomb the world-renowned resort it is today”, said Katz. “Partnering with the geographically diversified Vail Resorts and extending its successful Epic Pass products to Whistler Blackcomb are customer-focused ways of securing the long-term future of our resort, our industry and our community”. It gained further renown on the world stage six years ago when it helped host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It also bought Australia’s largest mountain resort – the Perisher ski resort – past year. In Colorado, the company is a frequent target of environmentalists, who criticize Vail’s terrain expansions into what they consider critical wildlife habitat, notably a 2012 dust-up over Breckenridge ski area’s “Peak 6” expansion. The total value is C$36.00 per share.
The Whistler Blackcomb acquisition is expected to finalize in the fall of 2016.
Vail Resorts, the mountain resort operator, just announced it’s buying Canadian ski resort operator Whistler Blackcomb.
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This latest purchase caps off a buying spree for Vail Resorts, which has gobbled up major ski industry players in the US and Australia over the past five years, including Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort (which it purchased two years ago and combined with Canyons Resort). While that is a high multiple, Vail Resorts’ stock price these days is trading at record levels.
