Whistler sold to Private Investors

Canadian Ski Resort Giant Sold for $2.8B
August 11, 2006
By Adam Perrotta, News Writer

Ski resort owner and real estate developer Intrawest Corp. has agreed to be purchased by Fortress Investment Group L.L.C. for $2.8 billion. Pending approval by a two-thirds majority of Intrawest stockholders, the deal is expected to close in October.

Canada-based Intrawest owns 10 ski resorts in North America, including Whistler-Blackcomb (pictured), which will host the downhill skiing events at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The company decided to take on partners to fund future development plans, CEO Joseph Houssian said in a release. To that end, Intrawest hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in late February to examine possible mergers and sales.

The company, which was unavailable for comment, ultimately decided to sell to Fortress Investment, which will pay $35 per share for the owner/developer. That price represents a 20 percent premium over Intrawest's closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Feb. 27, the last day before the announcement of the offer. Overall, Fortress manages about $23 billion in equity capital.

In addition to Whistler-Blackcomb, Intrawest's ski resorts also include Colorado's Winter Park, Vermont's Stratton Mountain and Quebec's Mont-Tremblant.

Shares of Intrawest fell by 10 cents on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, to $26.51.

Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor and McCarthy Tetrault as legal advisor to Intrawest in the sale. Lehman Brothers Inc. served as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom L.L.P. and Goodmans L.L.P. as legal advisors to Fortress.

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