PE-backed PortAventura issues €420m bond

Amy King
13 December 2013

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Spanish amusement park and tourist resort PortAventura, backed by Investindustrial and KKR, has issued a €420m senior secured high-yield bond.

The proceeds will be used to pay the firm's private equity backers a €150m dividend and to refinance around €270m of the company's debt, according to reports in the Spanish press.

An original issuance of €400m was planned, but was increased to €420m due to high investor demand.

Moody's has assigned the upcoming notes a B3 corporate family rating. The rating reflects the firm's "high adjusted leverage post-refinancing and the company's small size and reliance on a single location for revenues, against its generally strong performance in recent years amid a weak domestic economic in Spain," according to a statement on the agency's website.

Previous funding
Investindustrial sold a 49.9% stake in the asset to KKR last week, retaining the remaining shares in the company. The GP originally acquired a 50% stake in the firm from Criteria Caixa in 2009 in a deal that saw the asset split into two separate companies.

Investindustrial bought a 50% stake in one of the businesses, comprising the Caribe aquatic park, the management of four hotels including Hotel PortAventura, Caribe Resort, Gold River and El Paso, and a congress centre.

The second company, wholly owned by Criteria, included the remaining commercial and real estate assets, three golf courses and the Beach Club.

In November 2012, Investindustrial bought the remaining 50% stake in the firm. The buyer was widely reported to have paid around €120m for the shares, giving the firm an enterprise value of €439m.

Company
Founded in 1995 and based near Barcelona, PortAventura is an amusement park and tourist resort. The park has 39 rides in six themed areas, more than 100 shows each day, 70 restaurants and food outlets, and 44 shops. The four 4-star hotels at PortAventura have a combined capacity of more than 4,000 rooms.

The company reported EBITDA of €59m in 2011.

People
Andrea Bonomi is founder and senior principal at Investindustrial.