Vail Resorts Buys Whistler Blackcomb For $1 06 Billion

Vail Resorts, the largest publicly traded operator of mountain resorts, said on August 8 it agreed to acquire Whistler Blackcomb in a $1 billion stock and cash deal.

“On the other hand, Whistler joining Vail, and the very diverse, expansive portfolio that Vail owns, makes the Canadian ski resort less vulnerable to pressures like climate change and a shrinking skiing population”, Brown continued.

Both board of directors have approved the deal, along with 25% of Whistler Blackcomb shareholders.

Vail Resorts tends to purchase and improve ski resorts in urban areas to draw more visitors, the Wall Street Journal reports.

March 1997 – Whistler Mountain Ski Corp., the owner of Whistler, and Blackcomb owner Intrawest Corp. merge. Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) has risen 12.49% since December 31, 2015 and is uptrending.

Vail is offering Whistler Blackcomb shareholders C$17.50 ($13.29) per share in cash and 0.0975 shares of Vail stock, the company said today in a release.

Whistler CEO Dave Brownlie says Vail would provide greater financial strength and greater diversity through alliances in the United States, Australia and Canada.

The Whistler Blackcomb acquisition is expected to finalize in the fall of 2016. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings from C$33.00 to C$32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 12th.

Vail Resorts now operates nine mountain resorts and two ski areas in the USA and Australia, including Northstar-at-Tahoe and Park city Mountain Resort.

Whistler Blackcomb said it isn’t immune to regional weather patterns and that the transaction secures the “long-term future” of the 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.

“We have felt for a long time that Whistler (Blackcomb) is really the best positioned North American resort to benefit from the growth that we expect in outbound Chinese ski visitation, especially as China starts to ramp up towards the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics”, said Vail CEO Rob Katz on Monday.

The cash value of the offer is estimated to be C$ 676 million (USD$ 513 million) which Vail Resorts intends to finance through an expansion of its existing credit facility.