Whistler Blackcomb’s David Brownlie said Monday the deal with Colorado-based Vail Resorts, totalling almost C$1.4 billion, will give the ski resort access to both the money and the markets it needs to grow its status as one of the world’s leading, year-round ski havens.
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Interesting Fact: From royalty to pot-smoking Olympians, many have graced Whistler’s hills, including Prince William, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Ross Rebagliati, the world’s first snowboard gold medallist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.
Buying Whistler would give Vail a hedge against warming temperatures, which have hurt snowfall totals and contributed to declining in ski resort visits.
In addition to these two the company operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota; and Mt. Brighton in MI.
Katz counts Whistler as his top deal, even though he paid a high price. The region’s other ski areas include: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, owned by Dundee Resort Development; privately-owned Loveland Ski Area; in addition to Vail-controlled Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Resort.
Two of North America’s biggest ski resort operators are combining in a $1.05 billion deal that allows them to benefit from currency swings on either side of the U.S.
“Vail Resorts will invest substantially in Whistler-Blackcomb’s mountain infrastructure and growth plans, including continuing to build community and stakeholder support for the recently announced Renaissance project, a transformational investment which will diversify the local tourism economy; provide new four-season, weather-independent activities; and elevate Whistler-Blackcomb’s core skiing, mountain biking and sightseeing experiences for decades to come”, a press release stated.
It was not a hard sell to Whistler’s shareholders, resort chief executive Dave Brownlie said.
Greenhill & Co is the financial adviser to Whistler Blackcomb.
Whistler-Blackcomb shares closed in Toronto Aug. 5 at C$25.14-giving it a market value of about C$960 million prior to Monday’s announcement. “We are delighted to add such a renowned resort to Vail Resorts and look forward to expanding our relationship in the Sea-to-Sky community, British Columbia and Canada”. In January the company acquired Wilmot Mountain, located between Milwaukee and Chicago, to further diversify its USA presence. “And that’s what’s really important to us”. For next year, Vail Resorts plans to integrate Whistler Blackcomb into its Epic Season Pass and its other season pass products. Publicly-traded Vail Resorts does not now own a property in the Pacific Northwest.
That caught the eye of Vail, which operates 11 resorts.
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A big US ski resort operator is betting on indoor sports and foreign markets as it contends with a warming planet.
