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Vail Resorts to buy Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia

Shares of Vail Resorts (MTN) were up 6.56% to $153.41 on heavy trading volume mid-Monday afternoon after agreeing to purchase Canadian ski-resort operator Whistler Blackcomb (WSBHF) for about $1.06 billion. For 2017-18, however, the resort will be exclusively included on the Epic Pass alongside Vail Resorts’ 13 other ski resorts around the globe.

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The company has moved aggressively in recent years to geographically diversify in response to increasingly unpredictable weather and snowfall.

More than 2 million skiers visited Whistler Blackcomb’s resort in the year ended March 31. Vail said it would offer an assessment of its capital spending on Whistler Blackcomb on a conference call in September.

Broomfield, Colorado-based Vail will pay about C$676 million in cash. That led to the creation of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings with a public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2010. Vail will also assume about $132 million in Whistler Blackcomb’s outstanding debt.

For the most part, Vail Resorts has promised that day-to-day operations for the resort will remain at the resort.

The deal, which is expected to close during the fall, received popular voting support among shareholders but still needs to receive customary closing approval from shareholders and regulators. “With our combined experience and expertise, together we will build upon the guest experience at Whistler Blackcomb while preserving the unique brand and character of the resort as an iconic Canadian destination for guests around the world. We’re both doing very well”, Brownlie said about Whistler Blackcomb and Vail.

The post Vail Resorts Buys Whistler Blackcomb for $1.06 Billion appeared first on Transworld Business.

“Our approach is actually to increase investment in the resorts, increase improvements and putting money back into them”, said Katz. In January 1966, the Girabaldi Lift Company opened a four-person gondola, a double chairlift, and two T-bars with grand dreams to one day host the Winter Olympics.

This latest purchase caps off a buying spree for Vail Resorts, which has gobbled up major ski industry players in the USA 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).

Whistler’s shares jumped 47.6 percent to an all-time high of C$37.10, while Vail’s shares rose 9.7 percent to a record high of $157.95.

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Vail’s stock traded up about 7% in the noon hour Monday at $154.09, after posting a new 52-week high earlier of $157.95.

Vail Resorts acquiring Whistler Blackcomb