VANCOUVER — Both Intrawest ULC and its owner, private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, are refusing to comment on media reports out of New York on Tuesday that company representatives are exploring the possible sale of Whistler-Blackcomb to a Russian billionaire.
“We’ll not comment on any aspect of the story,” Fortress managing director Gordon Runte said Tuesday about the report in the Wall Street Journal. “Our stance is going to be no comment and no background on situations like this.”
Intrawest representative Ian Galbraith concurred in an e-mail to The Vancouver Sun. “We are aware of the speculative story that appeared in the WSJ today. Our response is simply ‘no comment.'”
According to the report, Intrawest representatives have approached Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin in recent weeks about a potential acquisition of Whistler-Blackcomb. However, the report noted it is unknown what price they have put on the resort.
The Journal said Fortress is also exploring other options for Whistler-Blackcomb, including spinning the property into a separate company and filing for an initial public offering.
Roger Freeman, a financial analyst with Barclays Capital in New York who follows Fortress Investment Group, said in an e-mail to The Sun that while he wasn’t aware of any possible sale of Whistler-Blackcomb to Potanin, it’s not inconceivable.
“Fortress would sell the property if [it received] an above-market price because it would help to minimize losses on the Intrawest investment,” Freeman said.
Potanin, the main shareholder of metals giant OAO Norilsk Nickel, has expressed an interest in the property, according to The Journal article. His investment vehicle, Interros Co., is building a new ski resort in Sochi, Russia, home of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
The report comes just months after Intrawest reached a deal on refinancing its corporate debt, which was due in December 2009, avoiding the possible sale of Whistler-Blackcomb during the 2010 Games. The company said in April it had repaid its prior lenders in full and completed a new loan that is scheduled to mature in 2014.
Fortress paid $2.8 billion to buy Intrawest in 2006, borrowing $1.4 billion to do so. Fortress defaulted on that loan in December, and after a two-month extension, the creditors announced that equity in Intrawest would be auctioned on Feb. 19.
By Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun
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