Vail Resorts buys operator of 2010 Olympics site for $1.1B

As noted by Brownlie, this move not only strengthens Vail Resorts’ hold on the USA ski market but helps to further diversify the company’s wide array of ski properties. Vail Resorts announced the move publicly Monday.

Whistler Blackcomb pulled the curtains back earlier this year on an ambitious, C$345-million expansion project, dubbed the Renaissance plan, to build more weather-independent facilities, improve on-mountain infrastructure and expand real estate offerings.

“Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most iconic mountain resorts in the world with an incredible history, passionate employees and a strong community”, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said in a statement. “We think about things in the next 10 or 20 years, and currencies go up and down”.

Whistler Blackcomb CEO David Brownlie, who will stay on as chief operating officer once the deal closes, said a more diversified company has better long-term stability.

Whistler Blackcomb’s shares were up 43.6 percent in mid-morning trading and Vail was up about 7 percent. The federal government recently lifted visa requirements for Mexicans visiting Canada.

The deal is expected to close in the fall.

Late in 2014, Vail Resorts purchased the Park City Mountain Resort in Utah for $182.5 million, and combined it with its neighboring property, The Canyons, to create the largest US ski resort, featuring 41 lifts and 7,300 acres of skiable terrain. It purchased its first Australian resort, the Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales, for approximately 5 million in 2015 before snatching up the smaller Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin in January of this year.

It negotiated to purchase Whistler Blackcomb from the B.C. -based Whistler Blackcomb Holdings for $1.39 billion.

Whistler-Blackcomb shareholders are being offered $676 million CAN of cash and Vail stock worth about $715 million CAN, making the deal worth almost $1.4 billion CAN when it was announced.

Shares of Whistler-Blackcomb jumped to a new all-time high when markets opened Monday, rising above $36 Canadian ($27.36) per share in Toronto.

Vail Resorts stock, up 40% in the past 12 months, rose 6.3% to $153.06 in morning trading in NY.

The mountain opened for skiing with a four-person gondola, a double chairlift, two T-bars and a day lodge.

DENVER (AP) – The largest resort operator in North America is buying the continent’s biggest ski area, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Whistler Blackcomb board of directors, and shareholders representing 25% of Whistler Blackcomb’s common shares have entered into voting support agreements in connection with the transaction.