Intrawest

Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc was a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company. In 2006, Intrawest was purchased by Fortress Investment Group, a private equity investment company,[1] which resulted in the company being delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. Fortress was under financial pressure related to the Intrawest debt, but a new loan with a single lender was completed in April 2010 and all prior lenders were repaid in full.[2]

Intrawest
TypePrivate
NYSE: SNOW
Founded1976
Defunct2017
FateMerged
SuccessorAlterra Mountain Company
HeadquartersDenver, Colorado, U.S.
Key people
Tom Marano, CEO
Number of employees
13,900
Websitewww.intrawest.com

In recent years, Intrawest has strengthened its cash flows, despite 2012 proving to be a challenging year for the American ski industry with warmer than normal temperatures and snowfall at 50% of historical averages.[3] Western Canada experienced above average and record snowfall amounts in some areas.

In May 2017, it was announced that Intrawest would no longer exist as a public company after its acquisition by Henry Crown and Company and KSL Capital Partners. Intrawest resorts are now operated by Alterra Mountain Company, which announced its new name at the 2018 Outdoor Retailer show in Denver, Colorado.[4]

History

In 1986, Intrawest acquired Blackcomb Mountain from the Federal Business Development Bank, a Canadian Crown Corporation, and Fortress Mountain of Alberta (no relation to Fortress Investments LLC), a wholly owned division of Aspen Skiing Company. The company later went public, listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges and, in 1996, merged with Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation to form Whistler-Blackcomb resort, a venue of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. Intrawest eventually spun off Whistler-Blackcomb and sold the last of its shares in that company in 2012.

Today, the Intrawest network includes mountain resorts. Intrawest also operates Club Intrawest, a private resort club with nine locations in North America. The company is the largest developer and operator of resort properties in North America offering skiing, snowboarding, golf, mountain biking, lodging, and real estate opportunities at each of its resorts. Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America. The company owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world.[5]

On November 12, 2013, Intrawest filed an initial public offering (IPO) with the New York Stock Exchange to raise up to $100 Million. The filing states that the money is being raised, "for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include potential investments in, and acquisitions of, ski and adventure travel businesses and assets."[6]

In 2016, Intrawest initiated significant reductions in full time staff to achieve rapid cost reductions.[7] Numerous key staff positions have been eliminated at its corporate headquarters and resort locations. This follows the sale[8] of the Club Intrawest time share lodging operation to Diamond Resorts International at the end of 2015. It is unclear regarding the company's longer term strategies as it continues to display inconsistent approaches in its business and staffing model. In 2017, Intrawest was sold to Henry Crown and Company (which owns Aspen Skiing Company[9]) and KSL Capital Partners for $1.5 billion.[10] In May 2017, it was announced that Intrawest would no longer exist as public company. The newly formed company is called Alterra Mountain Company, which was announced at the 2018 Outdoor Retailer Show in Denver, Colorado.[11]

Latest resorts

Resorts owned at least in part by Intrawest included:

Former resorts

References
  1. See "A lot has been happening at Intrawest...and Snowshoe Mountain" Archived 2011-08-27 at the Wayback Machine; "SkiSoutheast News", www.skisoutheast.tv, August 14, 2006.
  2. "Intrawest strikes refinancing deal with lenders". Reuters. April 27, 2010.
  3. "U.S. Ski Industry Tallies 51 Million Visits in 2011/12 Season". May 7, 2012.
  4. Blevins, Jason (10 May 2017). "Reporter". Denver Post.
  5. "Canadian Mountain Holidays: Our Story".
  6. Pankratz, Howard (2013-11-12). "Denver's Intrawest Resorts files $100 million IPO". Vail Daily. Swift Communications. Retrieved 2013-11-12. Intrawest Resorts Holdings, which operates Steamboat Ski & Resort, Winter Park Resort and other ski resorts in the U.S. and Canada, has registered for an initial public offering seeking to raise as much $100 million
  7. Transcripts, SA (2016-11-03). "Intrawest Resorts' (SNOW) CEO Tom Marano on Q1 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  8. "Diamond Resorts International to Acquire Intrawest Resort Club Group | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com (Press release). 25 November 2015. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  9. "The new name in ski resorts you need to know: Alterra Mountain". 11 January 2018.
  10. "Intrawest ski resort firm to be sold for $1.5B US". CBC News. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  11. https://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/09/aspen-steamboat-ski-area-merger/ https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/10/intrawest-aspen-ksl-capital/
  12. "$1.5 billion deal rocks Colorado ski industry as Aspen Skiing Co. acquires Steamboat and operator of Winter Park resort". 10 April 2017.
  13. "Deer Valley Resort to be Acquired by Newly Formed Resort Company and Joined with Intrawest, Mammoth Resorts, and Squaw Valley Ski Holdings | The Official Blog of Deer Valley Resort". blog.deervalley.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  14. "Intrawest sells Mont Ste-Marie resort". The Globe and Mail. 2002. Intrawest Corp. has sold its Mont Ste-Marie, Que., ski resort and golf course to Camp Fortune Resorts for an undisclosed amount. Vancouver-based Intrawest said it will retain about 2,000 acres of land at the base of the mountain for future development. The company acquired the resort in 1996.
  15. Hayes, Duffy (2005-10-05). "Intrawest sells off Mammoth". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2013-11-12. Intrawest announced the finalization of the sale of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
  16. "KSL Capital Partners Acquires 24% Interest in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc". www.prnewswire.com (Press release).
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