Price rose at TSX opening 

Whistler Blackcomb Holdings  launched an initial public offering November 2 in a bid to raise $300 million, after having slashed its share price twice in less than two weeks. The offering involved 25 million common shares at $12 per share, a price from $2 to $3 below what Whistler Blackcomb's owners, Fortress Investment Group, were seeking as recently as October 30.

The initial offering of shares closed on November 9, when the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WB. In the first day of trading, shares rose to $12.50 in heavy trading, but ended the day at $12.06.

Bloomberg News, citing "two people familiar with the sale" said the initial dividend yield would be around 8.1 per cent, well above the estimated 6.7 per cent to 7 per cent Fortress had been seeking.

According to Bloomberg, the sale places the value of Whistler Blackcomb at $453 million. Nippon Cable retained its 25 per cent share in the company after the IPO release.

The IPO followed an unsuccessful bid by Fortress to sell the company, which represents the largest ski resort in Canada, and Whistler's largest employer. The change in the prospective share price indicates weak interest from large investors, such as national pension funds, Bloomberg suggests. 

 Whistler Blackcomb problems are echoed across the B.C. ski resort industry, where occupancies are flirting with 50 per cent levels, real estate sales have slowed and foreign visitors are tracking lower.

For more on Western Canada's ski resort market, see the December 2010 issue of Western Investor.