Intrawest Gets B1 Moody's Rating on Proposed Issue of $125 Mil in Senior Notes

NEW YORK CITY-A B1 rating has been assigned by Moody’s Investors Service to the proposed issue by Intrawest Corp. of $125 million in senior notes due 2010. Intrawest manages five ski resorts in the US and five in Canada, along with a resort community and golf course in Florida and two golf courses in Arizona and other holdings.

Moody’s expects the firm to move from a net user of cash to a net generator in the next two years and anticipates a reduction in leverage due to continued growth in operating cash flow and declining capital spending. At the end of fiscal 1999, debt to cash flow was approximately 5.5 times, which dropped to below fives times a year later. This ratio is projected to remain stable through fiscal 2001, after which Intrawest should be able to take advantage of the development and infrastructure improvements it has made over the past few years. Looking forward, however, the rating agency expects the capital spending will resume, some of it coming from external financing.