New York, NY, August 24, 2007 -
MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a private equity firm with offices in New York and London, announced today that it has signed
a definitive agreement to sell Palace Entertainment, the largest owner and operator of water parks and family entertainment
centers in the U.S., to Parques Reunidos, one of Europe’s leading operators of attraction parks. The transaction is valued at
approximately $330 million plus cash and less net debt as of July 31, 2007
Palace Entertainment is the largest operator of water parks and family entertainment centers in the U.S., with 33 parks
and over 10 million visitors annually. Palace Entertainment waterparks include; Wet ‘N Wild in Greensboro NC, Raging Waters
in San Dimas, San Jose and Sacramento, CA, Splish Splash in Riverhead NY, Big Kahuna’s in Destin FL, Water Country in
Portsmouth NH, Mountain Creek in Vernon NJ and Wild Waters in Ocala FL. Palace Entertainment also owns Boomers, Castle Park,
Silver Springs, Malibu Grand Prix, Mountasia, and Speedzone family entertainment centers in CA, TX, FL, GA, and NY. MidOcean
acquired Palace Entertainment in 2006.
“We are pleased with the progress that we have made at Palace Entertainment during our ownership. With our prior
experience investing in the leisure sector, we were able to bring significant management resources to Palace and have grown
the business both organically and through acquisition. We have built Palace into a leader in its industry and a great platform
which will facilitate Parques Reunidos’s entry into the U.S. leisure market,” said Tyler Zachem, Managing Director of MidOcean.
Al Weber, the CEO of Palace Entertainment, said “Palace Entertainment has benefited from a strong partnership with the
MidOcean team and we are proud of what we have achieved together. We believe that Palace is well positioned to continue to
be a leader in the United States leisure-park industry and is well positioned to become an important asset in Parques Reunidos’s
portfolio. We are looking forward to working with Richard Golding and the Parques Reunidos team to leverage their international
expertise as we continue to provide guests with a high-quality and value-oriented place to escape, have fun, and create
memories together.”
Parques Reunidos operates 28 separate parks, including amusement parks, animal parks, and water parks, across 8 countries.
More than 12 million visitors are attracted annually to its amusement parks. Its holdings include the flagship Parque de
Atracciones and the Zoo Aquarium (both in Madrid).
According to Richard Golding, the CEO of Parques Reunidos, “Palace Entertainment operates many well-known and highly-attended
water parks and family entertainment centers, and we are pleased to enter the U.S. market with this acquisition. The
acquisition of Palace Entertainment represents a major step in Parques Reunidos’s strategy of becoming a leading player in
the global leisure parks market, and the combined group will provide an even stronger platform for continued growth. We look
forward to working with the Palace team to continue to develop these family-friendly attractions and market them to an even
broader group of visitors.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in the third quarter of 2007.
The Royal Bank of Scotland provided committed financing for the transaction. Morrison Cohen served as legal counsel to
MidOcean Partners and Clifford Chance provided legal counsel to Parques Reunidos.
About MidOcean Partners
MidOcean Partners is a premier private equity firm focused on the middle market. Based in New York and London,
MidOcean is committed to investing in high quality companies with stable market positions and multiple opportunities
for growth in the United States and Europe. Targeted sectors include consumer and leisure, media and communications,
business and financial services and industrials. MidOcean utilizes a broad foundation of expertise in its focus industries
and its transatlantic platform to create value for its investors and partners.
About Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos is the second largest European operator of Leisure Parks and the seventh in the world with 28 parks
in 8 countries and 12 million visitors per year. The head office is located in Madrid, Spain and the group is majority
owned by Candover, a leading European buyout specialist. For more information visit www.parquesreunidos.com or www.candover.com.