Parques Reunidos has paid €26.5m ($32.6m) to acquire Belantis, a theme park located in Leipzig, Germany. The acquisition includes 27 hectares of nearby land for the expansion of the park.
Belantis opened in 2003 following 19 months of construction at a cost of €50m ($54.4m). It is family-oriented, targeting those with children aged between two and 12-years-old.
The park has eight different themed areas with 70 attractions, 13 restaurants and two souvenir shops across 38 hectares. It also offers a broad event programming, including themed parties, music events and firework shows.
Blooloop reported earlier this month that Parques Reunidos was in talks to acquire the park with its previous owner, Event Park.
The park made a loss of €380,000 ($416,000) in 2015, according to German newspaper reports. Parques Reunidos expects to improve its performance through introducing improved management practices and widening the park’s offering. The group is targeting improvements of 50% in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) after two seasons in charge.
Parques Reunidos says it has identified several “highly attractive expansion projects” for the 27 hectares of extra land, however it did not disclose any details.
Germany is a strategic market for the group. It already owns Movie Park Germany, located in Bottrop-Kirchhellen. Parques Reunidos has acquired 19 attractions across 10 countries since 2004.
Fernando Eiroa, CEO of Parques Reunidos, said: “This acquisition has offered Parques Reunidos a great opportunity to reinforce our presence in the German market and gain synergies with Movie Park.
“We have attractive investments projects for Belantis, which will enhance customer experience, bringing the park to the best industry standards. Our selective acquisitions strategy targets companies such as Belantis, that offer attractive opportunities.”
