The deal with Vail Resorts, which requires shareholder approval, values Whistler Blackcomb shares at $27.36, or $36 Canadian. Vail Resorts, which already owned the largest US resort with Park City (the now unified Canyons Resort and Park City Mountain Resort) does not release state- or resort-specific visitation numbers; but, in its most recent fiscal report from the third quarter, it confirmed that visits were up almost 14 percent this past season.
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Located in British Columbia, Whistler Blackcomb is the largest and most visited ski resort in North America.
Brownlie added that he hopes the transaction will help Whistler Blackcomb make inroads into the eastern seaboard of the US, as well as Latin America, especially Mexico.
The aggregate cash component of the offer is estimated to be C$676 million ($513M) which Vail Resorts intends to finance through an expansion of its existing credit facility. The depth of Vail Resorts – with its industry-dominating Epic Pass, network of loyal, high-dollar ski vacationers and propensity to invest heavily in its resorts – will take Whistler Blackcomb to a higher level, Brownlie said.
In Wyoming, Vail resorts does business under the Grand Teton Lodge Company brand, operating several hotels, restaurants, campgrounds and activities within Grand Teton National Park, including Jackson Lake Lodge, Jenny Lake Lodge, Colter Bay Village, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company. For next year, Vail Resorts plans to integrate Whistler Blackcomb into its Epic Season Pass and its other season pass products. Raymond James Financial Inc. reissued an “outperform” rating and set a C$28.50 price target on shares of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings in a research note on Monday, June 20th.
“We’ve always been a successful company on our own, and this is just like adding a bigger engine to the machine to allow us more strength and stability – to make us move faster no matter what is thrown at us, like global weather conditions or economic factors”, Whistler Blackcomb Chief Executive Officer David Brownliesaid in an interview.
“Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most iconic mountain resorts in the world with an incredible history, passionate employees and a strong community”, said Rob Katz, Vail’s CEO, in a written statement.
In other words, Vail Resorts will acquire 100 per cent of Whistler Blackcomb’s stock. In New York, Vail stock was also trading at its highest in at least a decade, closing at about US$155.
The deal is expected to be finalized this autumn. A competitor and site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler has been a perennial profit victor too.
Brownlie earlier said that Whistler Blackcomb could expand its ski terrain by about 25 per cent from more than 3300 hectares now.
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Dave Browline the CEO of Whistler Blackcomb, said the deal would help provide resources for the company’s ambitious growth plan. Whistler shareholders will own about 10 percent of Vail Resorts after the transaction.
