Diamond Resorts International, Inc. goes for $85 million deal with Intrawest

Club Intrawest - Palm Desert
Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (DRII) reported last week that they have a definitive agreement to purchase Intrawest Resort Group (IRCG) from Intrawest Resort Holdings, Inc. The $85 million purchase is contingent upon specific closing date adjustments and completion is expected by the first quarter of 2016.

Acquisition Adds Nine North American Resorts

DRII has a network of more than 350 vacation destinations in 34 countries. The nine IRCG resorts included in the acquisition are in North America. In a press release DRII President and CEO David Palmer commented, "Both acquisitions provide us with significant value creation opportunities through synergies, sales innovation and cost savings. We are confident that acquisitions such as these will enhance our financial profile and create long-term shareholder value."

Intrawest Enthusiastic About Agreement

Tom Marano, Chief Executive Officer of Intrawest Resorts, expressed his enthusiasm for the agreement, "With the additional cash from this transaction, we are well positioned to continue driving organic growth at our mountain resorts and adventure businesses, while also pursuing strategic acquisitions and evaluating opportunities to unlock the value of our real estate holdings over time." IRCG, a mountain resort and adventure company, develops, sells interests in, and manages Club Intrawest, a points-based timeshare vacation club.

What Does it Mean for Owners?

CEO Tom Marano said this about the agreement, "We are committed to working closely with Diamond Resorts to execute a seamless transaction and look forward to a long-term relationship that we believe will benefit club owners and our resorts alike." The transaction includes the management contracts with Club Intrawest, the current balance of notes receivable, approximately four acres of undeveloped land, and the current balance of points available for sale.

According to a recent article in Barron's, Diamond Resorts has made seven acquisitions since 2010. In addition to the Gold Key deal in August, Diamond also announced a partnership with Och-Ziff to develop a 144 unit resort in Kona, Hawaii. Diamond will buy the units, manage the property and handle the sale of VOI’s. The project, expected to finish in 2017, could generate $400 million in VOI sales. Diamond’s Gold Key acquisition in August added six resorts in Virginia and North Carolina with 30,000 owners.

Often when a transaction like this one occurs, rumors fly and owners often feel some trepidation. The whole industry is consolidating and on the positive side, that gives consumers more options for exchanging and often a higher trade value. However, timeshare used to be very entrepreneurial, with folks providing unique and individual service. With conglomerations formed by consolidation, that often goes away. There are advantages and economies of scale, but along with it the individuality of resorts evaporates. Intrawest used to be keen on each resort being singular - will this change now?
3 Responses
  1. Club Intrawest members--you own your club. Do Not let this happen. Contact your independent directors James Orr and Ken Smith and tell them to vote NO on the transfer of the management contract. We have a choice! We signed up for upscale, luxury boutique resorts, not the mass market merchandise Diamond has to offer. Write to them at gov@clubintrawest.com. Also to get accurate truthful information on this subject, join the Facebook group- Club Intrawest-The Owners Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubintrawestowners/1675573176042492/?notif_t=group_activity

  2. Club Intrawest members--You own your club. Don't allow this transfer of the management company to go through. Write your Independent Directors James Orr and Ken Smith at GOV.clubintrawest.com and tell them to vote NO on the transfer of management contracts/ We bought into upscale boutique resorts, not the mass market merchandise Diamond has to offer. For more information what is really going on, please join Club Intrawest-The Owners Group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubintrawestowners/1675573176042492/?notif_t=group_activity

  3. Anonymous Says:

    CI members are not very happy about this. Please check out this website for more information:

    http://www.cimembersgroup.com

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