Intrawest shareholders approve sale to U.S. firm

Intrawest Corp. shareholders have endorsed a $2.76-billion US takeover of the company by New York-based Fortress Investment Group LLC, a private-equity firm.

On Tuesday, shareholders of Vancouver-based Intrawest voted 99.9 per cent in favour of the $35 US per-share offer from Fortress.

Intrawest is the owner of Canada's biggest ski resort, Whistler-Blackcomb, plus Quebec's Mont Tremblant and other ski hills in Canada and the United States. The company also has sun-and-golf resorts and real estate development operations.

The takeover required the approval of two-thirds of Intrawest's shareholders.

Fortress is a global investment and asset management firm that manages about $23 billion US in equity capital. The company has offices in Toronto and eight other cities around the world.