INTRAWEST CONSIDERS GLOBAL EXPANSION

Source: The Australian Financial Review

March 19, 1999
Intrawest Corp, one of America's three giant publicly-traded ski resort companies, is preparing for a plunge into ski-field ownership in the southern hemisphere. In what looks to be a major global expansion, Intrawest is understood to be shifting its focus from North America to Australia and possibly New Zealand as it eyes ski resorts there.

In Australia, the ski giant is reported to have issued a mandate to financial advisers Goldman Sachs to add southern hemisphere resorts to its already massive holdings, which includes Canada's famous Whistler Mountain. BCR Asset Management's $150 million Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain resorts in Victoria are understood to have met their criteria. A $16 million mountain-top jet airport - the highest in Australia - plus $8 million of new infrastructure, including snow-making machines and chair lifts, is understood to have caught the eye of Goldman Sachs, which is expected to soon start discussions with BCR.

However, BCR refused to comment to The Australian Financial Review earlier this week.

The nearby $120 million Mount Buller ski fields could also meet the criteria, sources claimed.

If Intrawest proceeds with a deal in the southern hemisphere, funding, staff and expertise could be fully deployed throughout the northern and southern hemisphere ski seasons. "The assets would not compete because of the hemispheres," analysts said.

Intrawest made its first foray outside continental US last year, outlaying $US35.3 million (A$55 million) for a 16 per cent stake in the world's largest ski field operator, Compagnie des Alpes, which operates in France and Italy.

"This investment now gives us a window on the largest ski markets in the world," Intrawest chairman Mr Joe Houssian said in the company's latest annual report. "We have already begun to pursue the cross-marketing opportunities of this relationship which will enable us to link many of Europe's and North America's best-known mountain resorts."

Founded in 1973, the Vancouver-based Intrawest has grown from a residential developer to a major holder of ski slopes after acquiring Stratton, a Vermont resort, in 1994. The following year, it purchased Snowshoe in West Virginia and an interest in Mammoth (California). A 1996 buying spree added three new properties - the Copper(Colorado), Mont Ste Marie (Quebec) and Whistler-Blackcomb (British Columbia). Last year, Intrawest acquired the Mountain Creek resort in New Jersey and its first warm-weather destination, the $US140 million Sandestin resort on Florida's Gulf Coast. Last September, the New York-listed company further expanded its operations, buying up two companies which rent and sell snowboards through 43 outlets. Intrawest outlaid $US16 million for Breeze Inc and Max Snowboards, two Colorado-based firms. Goldman Sachs analysts said last year: "We believe that Intrawest has the most integrated real estate and resort development program, the least risk, and the greatest focus on off-season development."