Vail Resorts will acquire Whistler Blackcomb Holdings in a deal the ski-resort companies value at about Canadian $1.4 billion ($1.1 billion).
In what the companies call a “strategic business combination,” Vail will pay C$17.50 per share in cash and 0.0975 share of Vail Resorts common stock for each share of Whistler Blackcomb for a total of C$36 a share. The transaction will combine the portfolios of two large ski-resort companies.
Whistler Blackcomb in Whistler, British Columbia, is a combination of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains that sit side-by-side. The resort combined encompasses more than 8,000 acres with 200 trails. The site was where the 2010 Winter Olympics were held and was named the top ski resort in America by Ski Magazine in three of the past four years.
Vail operates nine mountain resorts and two urban ski areas including Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, Park City in Utah and three resorts in the Lake Tahoe area. It also has holdings in Australia, Wisconsin, Minnesota an Michigan.
The combination improves “financial strength, marketing exposure, guest relationships and broadens the geographic diversity” for Whistler Blackcomb, Chief Executive Dave Browlie said in a statement. Brownlie will become chief operating officer and a senior member of the leadership team of Vail Resorts mountain division, the statement said.
Skiiers who frequent Whistler Blackcomb don’t need to worry, the companies said, as all 2016-17 season passes will be honored. The transaction has be approved by the companies’ respective boards. Upon closing of the transaction, Whistler Blackcomb shareholders will own about 10% of Vail Resorts outstanding common stock.
