Less than six weeks after Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) announced that it would buy Whistler Blackcomb (TSX:WB) in a friendly $1.4-billion purchase, another prominent B.C. ski resort is letting it be known that they are seeking to be sold.
Grouse Mountain Resorts announced September 19 that it has retained CBRE to market and sell its operations, which include more than 1,200 acres of privately held land.
The McLaughlin family, which has previously owned operations such as Whistler Water, owns the mountain as part of its 3 Angels Holdings Ltd.
Principals are West Vancouver’s Stuart McLaughlin and his Ontario-based sisters Julie McLaughlin and Joanne McLaughlin.
(Click here to read a 2012 Business in Vancouver profile of Stuart McLaughlin)
“This recent decision will ensure that Grouse Mountain continues to build on its strong heritage and further cultivate the Grouse Mountain brand and opportunities,” the company said in a release.
Since 1989, the McLaughlins have pumped more than $55 million into improving and diversifying revenue streams on the mountain by adding attractions such as a zipline and a wind turbine dubbed the Eye of the Wind.
“Grouse Mountain presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire an iconic Vancouver landmark” said Tony Quattrin, who is vice-chairman of CBRE Canada’s national investment team.
He will market the mountain alongside Jim Szabo, who is with CBRE’s national investment team.
“We anticipate a high level of local, national and international interest in acquiring Vancouver’s premier year-round outdoor recreation destination.”
Whistler Blackcomb CEO Dave Brownlie told Business in Vancouver that the reasons for the sale at Grouse Mountain are likely very different from those at his company.
“We were not seeking a buyer,” said Brownlie to highlight the biggest difference.
“Vail approached us 18 months ago and, over a course of time, with the price and everything else, [the sale] made sense.”
Unlike Grouse Mountain, where the assets for sale include private land holdings, Whistler Blackcomb leases its 8,000 acres of skiable terrain from the Crown.
“They run a fantastic business,” Brownlie said of Grouse Mountain. “It’s an iconic Vancouver tourism attraction in the winter and summer. It will be interesting to watch the process unfold.”
