PAI Partners to acquire The Looping Group from Mubadala Capital

Ero Partsakoulaki
10 May 2023

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European sponsor PAI Partners has made a binding offer to acquire The Looping Group (Looping), a pan-European leisure park operator from Mubadala Capital’s private equity business and the French national investment bank Bpifrance.

The GP will acquire a majority stake in the business via PAI Partners VIII, the firm's latest flagship fund, a source familiar with the situation told Unquote.

The fund was registered with Luxembourg's Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés on 28 September 2021 and has a target of EUR 7bn and a hard-cap of EUR 8.5bn, according to Unquote Data.

PAI's investment in IFF's Savory Solutions in December 2022 marked the second deal from the fund, as reported. Most recently, the GP acquired French frozen desserts supplier La Compagnie des Desserts in February 2023, as reported.

Under Mubadala Capital's ownership, Looping expanded both organically and through M&A, according to a press release, a growth strategy which PAI is expected to continue following the acquisition.

The market is highly fragmented and Looping is emerging as the [main] consolidation platform in Europe, said the same source. With 10 parks acquired over the past 10 years and a clear intention to continue this highly acquisitive strategy, PAI will closely monitor the competitive landscape and consider strategic investment opportunities to remain at the forefront of the fragmented market, added the source.

PAI will draw on its expertise in the outdoor leisure industry, which includes past investments in B&B Hotels, Roompot and European Camping Group, according to the press release.

Given its positioning in the resilient budget leisure segment, the company successfully navigated the challenging Covid environment and is well-placed to benefit from long-term tailwinds that underpin the local leisure park market, it said.

Looping's management will continue to lead the business, while co-founders Laurent Bruloy and Stéphane Da Cunha will retain a significant shareholding in the business, it said.

The contemplated transaction will be submitted to the relevant employee representative bodies of Looping and will be subject to antitrust approvals, it said.

PAI Partners declined to comment.

Company
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Paris, Looping owns and operates 18 local and regional leisure parks, including theme parks, waterparks, wildlife parks and aquariums, attracting more than six million visitors a year with revenues in excess of EUR 190m. The group's parks span eight European countries, including France, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Germany and Portugal.

People
PAI Partners − Bertrand Monier (partner).
Looping − Laurent Bruloy (CEO and co-founder).
Mubadala Capital − Antoun Ghanem (head of European private equity investment practice).

Advisers
Equity − Edmond de Rothschild (M&A); Bain & Company, Voltere (strategy); Eight Advisory UK (financial, IT & tax due diligence); Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (legal, labour, tax & compliance due diligence); KPMG (ESG).