Vail Resorts on Monday said it will pay $1.06 billion for the sprawling Canadian ski area Whistler Blackcomb.
The stock and cash transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of Whistler and Vail Resorts, North America’s largest resort operator. The deal, which still must be approved by Whistler Blackcomb shareholders and Canadian courts, is expected to close this fall.
Vail Resorts says it will include the British Columbia ski area in the Epic Pass and other season pass products for the 2017-18 winter. Whistler Blackcomb’s existing season-pass products will be honored for the full 2016-17 winter season.
“With our combined experience and expertise, 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 for guests around the world,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said in a statement. “We are delighted to add such a renowned resort to Vail Resorts and look forward to expanding our relationships in the Sea-to-Sky community, British Columbia and Canada.”
Whistler Blackcomb will nominate one member of its board to the Vail Resorts board of directors, according to Vail Resorts.
Whistler CEO Dave Brownlie will continue in his role and also become a member of the senior leadership team of Vail Resorts’ mountain division.
“This relationship will bring greater resources to support our current operations and our ambitious growth plans,” Brownlie said in a statement.
Whistler, North America’s largest ski resort, is a massive addition to Vail Resorts growing list of ski areas across the globe.
Whistler is a four-season mountain resort sprawled between two side-by-side peaks that are connected by a world record-breaking gondola. Combined, they offer more than 8,000 acres of terrain on 200 trails, 14 alpine bowls and three glaciers.
By comparison, Vail Mountain Resort has 5,289 skiable acres.
Vail Resorts officials said during an investor call Monday morning that acquiring Whistler will help boost the company’s international market draw, especially among visitors from Australia and Europe. The company also said Whistler’s terrain is “well positioned” to face the challenges of changing weather conditions facing the ski industry as a whole.
Whistler Blackcomb is well-known worldwide and, because of its typical annual snowfall of more than 465 inches, it offers one of the longest ski seasons in North America.
Whistler Mountain opened to the public in January 1966 and merged with Blackcomb Mountain, which opened in 1980, in 1997. The resort hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Vail Resorts already owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas in Colorado and Park City in Utah. In the Lake Tahoe area, it owns Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.
Vail last year acquired Perisher ski resort in Australia, and this year bought Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin. The company also owns Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan.
