Parques Reunidos to Acquire Germany’s Tropical Islands Indoor Waterpark

Yesterday, Spanish Parques Reunidos Group reached an agreement with Malaysia’s Tanjong PLC to take over the Tropical Islands indoor waterpark, located some 60 kilometers away from Berlin/Germany, for a total transaction sum of 226 million Euros. It was already known that the owners were in talks with interested parties with regards to a possible sale of the tropical bathing paradise and there are plans to develop the destination into a holiday resort in the coming years at a total investment of around 300 million Euros (read also our interview with Tropical Islands CEO Michiel Illy in EAP 4/2018). After Movie Park Germany and the acquisition of the Belantis theme park located in Saxony (cf. EAP 2/2018), Tropical Islands will be the third venue of the Spanish operating group in Germany. The transaction, which is subject to antitrust and regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in February 2019.

Richard Golding, Chairman of Parques Reunidos Group, said: “We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Tanjong PLC, which has developed this unique park into a strong brand. Parques Reunidos will expand Tropical Islands in the future on the foundation of its extensive expertise in the management of over 60 leisure facilities in 14 countries. We see a huge potential for the further development of the entire Tropical Islands Resort. We also look forward to working with the team and the regional authorities,” commented Golding.

Parques Reunidos currently operates 64 leisure facilities worldwide, including 30 destinations in Europe. In total, the group welcomes around 19.6 million visitors annually. The acquisition of Tropical Islands adds another on million guests per year. (eap)