Vail Resorts to buy Canada's Whistler Blackcomb
Reuters
Published Aug 08, 2016 12:23PM ET
Vail Resorts to buy Canada's Whistler Blackcomb
(Reuters) - Vail Resorts Inc (N:MTN) said it would buy Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc (TO:WB), operator of the ski resort that was a venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, for about C$1.39 billion ($1.06 billion) to expand its mountain resort chain into Canada.
The C$36 per share cash-and-stock offer represents a premium of about 43 percent to Whistler Blackcomb's Friday close.
Whistler Blackcomb's shares were up 43.6 percent in mid-morning trading and Vail was up about 7 percent.
Vail, which owns mountain resorts in the United States and Australia, will pay about C$676 million in cash and C$715 million in stock.
Vail's offer was unsolicited, Whistler Blackcomb Chief Executive Dave Brownlie said on a conference call, adding that there were no other bidders.
Brownlie said the deal would help Whistler Blackcomb's growth plans, including a project that is aimed at insulating the company's resort from daily changes in weather.
The project includes an indoor adventure center and a six-star luxury hotel.
Whistler Blackcomb's year-round mountain resort in British Columbia is open for skiing from November through May of each year.
A number of lifts, which take people up the hill, remain open from May through October for summer activities including sightseeing, hiking, glacier skiing and mountain biking.
Whistler and Blackcomb are two side-by-side mountains connected by cable lift. More than 200 trails, 14 alpine bowls and three glaciers are spread across the mountains.
More than 2 million skiers visited Whistler Blackcomb's resort in the year ended March 31. The resort had 2.7 million visitors in all.
The company was formed in 1997 through the merger of Whistler and Blackcomb mountain resorts.
Vail is planning to use a term loan, its credit facility and cash-on-hand to fund the acquisition.
The deal, expected to close in fall 2016, comes seven months after Vail bought the Wilmot mountain ski area in Wisconsin.
Greenhill & Co is the financial adviser to Whistler Blackcomb. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is the legal counsel to the company, and Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP is the legal counsel to Whistler Blackcomb's special committee of the board.
Stikeman Elliott LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP are the legal counsel to Vail.
Get The News You Want
($1 = 1.32 Canadian dollars)
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.