The transaction provides the Canadian company with increased financial strength to expand, while giving Vail one of the world’s most popular mountain resorts.
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The CEO of Vail Resorts, Rob Katz, said to have been committed to the expansion of the ski center, located about 125km north of Vancouver.
“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”, said Katz in a press release.
Whistler Blackcomb shareholders are being offered $676 million (CDN) of cash and Vail stock worth about $715 million (CDN).
The C$36 per share cash-and-stock offer represents a premium of about 43 percent to Whistler Blackcomb’s Friday close.
They also said they would invest substantially in Whistler Blackcomb’s mountain infrastructure and growth plans. Last year, Vail spent $182.5 million to buy Park City Mountain Resort in Utah, which settled a controversial turf war and litigation between Park City’s previous owners and the landlord, and enabled Vail to merge Park City with Canyons Ski Area to create the second largest ski area in North America at 7,300 skiable acres.
When Vail Resorts Inc. announced in January that it was buying Wilmot Mountain, a regional resort in Wisconsin favoured by Chicago skiers for US$20.2 million, some feared the Colorado-based company was only after quick profits and wouldn’t upgrade the property. Located in the province of British Columbia, the resort – which attracts almost two million visitors per year – sits about 75 miles from Vancouver. This partnership will add the British Columbia resort under Vail’s growing Epic Pass offering.
Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden said the Renaissance Project, which will require substantial rezoning applications, has not yet been set to council. The resort’s popularity, which grew following the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, helped push adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to a record in the fiscal second quarter, ended March 31.
Stock in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings soared in trading on the Toronto exchange Monday.
Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will be sold to Vail Resorts under a new deal announced today.
“We are obviously proud of what we have done and what we have accomplished, but going forward working with Vail Resorts will make us that much stronger that much faster”, said Brownlie, who will remain the boss at Whistler and join the senior leadership team at Vail Resorts.
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The consolidation is part of a growing trend for both the winter-centric industry and Vail Resorts, in particular. In New York, Vail Resorts stock was also trading at the highest in at least a decade, trading at about US$150 shortly after the open.
