Whistler is the largest ski resort in North America and is being bought for $1.05 billion in cash and stock. That compares with about 5,300 skiable acres at Vail Mountain Resort. The buyer’s financial resources would also “accelerate” Whistler’s plans to become – in Brownlie’s words – “weather independent”.
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“In the ski industry, all that matters is the long term, and we know very well”.
Whistler Blackcomb unveiled earlier this year, an ambitious expansion project of $ 345 million, dubbed “Renaissance”. In the last fiscal year, an estimated two million skiers visited the resort generating a record $241 million in revenue, according to the resort.
Brownlie said he does not expect the corporate takeover to cause “significant changes” to the brand or to the Northwest character of Whistler. Plenty big: 8,171 acres; 2.7 million visitors last season; two mountains connected by a gondola that runs for 1.88 miles through the air without a support; 37 lifts that can carry almost 70,000 skiers an hour to more than 200 marked runs; not one but two 7-mile-long runs; a 5,280-foot vertical spread on Blackcomb Mountain; an average of 461 inches of snow annually; 17 restaurants on the mountains.
Whistler Blackcomb is less than two hours’ drive north of Vancouver and about five hours from Seattle. The resort co-hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics with Vancouver.
The transaction also lets Vail benefit from currency dynamics: with a strong USA dollar, Whistler Blackcomb is set to have as many as 2.6 million visitors this year, Brownlie said Monday.
The deal still needs the approval of Canadian courts, as well as Whistler shareholders, and is expected to close in the fall.
Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc owns an interest in each of Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership and Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Limited Partnership, which, together, carry on the four season mountain resort business, Whistler Blackcomb. Vail Resorts owns a global network of mountain resorts and has been acquisitive recently.
Vail said it will “invest substantially” in Whistler Blackcomb’s infrastructure and four-season activities. Publicly-traded Vail Resorts does not now own a property in the Pacific Northwest.
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Stock in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings soared in trading on the Toronto exchange Monday. Wall Street appeared to like the deal too as Vail Resorts rose sharply in NY trading.
