Wet’n’Wild theme park sold for $40m
Village Roadshow has signed a deal to sell its western Sydney Wet’n’Wild water park to Spanish theme park operator Parques Reunidos for at least $40 million.
The sale will result in a pre-tax loss of approximately $25 million, which will be disclosed as a material item in the fiscal year 2018 results, Village said in a statement to the ASX on Monday morning.
The deal would give Parques Reunidos, which operates a portfolio of over 60 entertainment assets and 20 water parks globally, an entry into the Australian market.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
Net proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce Village Roadshow’s debt levels, the company’s statement says.
Village Roadshow theme parks general manager Greg Yong at Wet’n’Wild Water World. Picture: Jerad Williams
The deal is worth $40 million, plus a variable compensation that will depend on the park’s revenue performance up to 30 June 2020, and is expected to reach completion in the first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year.
“Parques will be able to add value and enhance Wet‘n’Wild Sydney’s performance over the coming years,” Village says.
It comes after the company sold the land its Warner Bros Movie World and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast theme parks sit on for about $100 million to a Queensland-based super fund in December, in a sale and leaseback deal.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
