SPAIN - Advent sells Parques Reunidos in Spain's largest ever exit

Surpassing offers from CVC, Apax and the Tussauds Group, the private equity firm closed its first deal since its establishment in Spain. It is understood that the firm's head Javier Abad offered around EUR 1bn. The initial auction price is said to have been set at EUR 650m.

Parques Reunidos is headquartered in Madrid and is the third largest European operator of attraction parks. The group currently operates 22 separate parks including amusement parks, animal parks and water parks, across 6 countries – Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Norway and Argentina. These parks are well located and are generally the leading family attractions in the surrounding area. The group reported pro forma revenues of EUR193.5m in 2006 and entertained over 9.2 million visitors.

Majority equity funding is being provided by the EUR 3.5bn Candover 2005 Fund with a substantial minority investment from the shareholders of Bourne Leisure. The management team including Richard Golding, Jose Diaz and Pedro Cortes will all re-invest in the new equity structure. Debt and mezzanine financing is being led by Royal Bank of Scotland. The acquisition is conditional upon approval by EU competition authorities.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe