Rumour: Compagnie des Alpes to sell two parks to Aspro

[Ian]

The leisure park manager will sell its Dolphinarium and Walibi of Roquefort to the Spanish group Aspro, according to press reports. The group that operates the Asterix and Futuroscope declined to confirm this information.

The leisure group Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) will sell its Dutch Dolphinarium and Walibi of Roquefort (Lot-et-Garonne) to the Spanish group Aspro said Thursday the daily Les Echos. The transfer of the Dolphinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) "to a sector industrial player" was announced on December 18 by the CDA, which was "approached (s) five to six operators," which Aspro and fellow Fates Reunidos, says the business daily.

The French group was simultaneously reported that a proposed transfer of a park in France was "at an advanced stage." On Monday, the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest reported that the Walibi of Roquefort "change (is) Pocket" in favor of Aspro.

Contacted by AFP, the CDA would not comment on this information and recalled that these operations were subject to prior consultation with staff representatives. CDA operates 11 ski areas and 16 leisure destinations - including Parc Asterix, the Grevin museum and Futuroscope - and achieved a turnover of 693 million euros for the year ending September 2014.

Source: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... rev=search

This interests me because CDA has just posted increased turnover.

I'm not bothered about the Dolphin place, but Walibi Sud Ouest is a place I've yet to visit. Astro aren't ones to invest in parks (Oakwood is their biggest theme park asset).

 

[peep]

I think at the moment the biggest question is what will happen with the Walibi brand and will they be able to keep it. If not then that'll cost a small fortune to hide away as the last few years CDA has spent loads introducing the new version of the brand. One to keep an eye on that's for sure.

 

[Martyn B]

Given how they look after Oakwood, Aspro shouldn't be allowed to get their mits on any other parks!

 

[Ian]

Yeah, it's happened.

Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) has announced the sale of the Dolfinarium Harderwijk and Walibi Sud-Ouest to Continental Leisure Projects SARL, an affiliate of Aspro Group, for a total of €37.5 million in cash.

The sale of Dolfinarium Harderwijk has been completed and the sale of Walibi Sud-Ouest has been initiated as is expected to complete by the end of January 2015.

In FY 2013/14 the two sites together contributed around 6% of EBITDA and €22.5 million sales for CDA’s Leisure business unit. Walibi Sud-Ouest will retain its brand for at least three years.

The disposal is in line with CDA’s strategy to refocus its leisure portfolio.

Commenting on the news, Dominique Marcel, Chairman and CEO of Compagnie des Alpes, said, “This transaction highlights the intrinsic value of CDA's sites, particularly those at the heart of our strategy.”

Source: http://www.blooloop.com/news/compagnie- ... K_xmMbA7BI