France: Looping Group Takes Over Zoo de la Flèche
Zoodirektor Stéphane Da Cunha, Quelle: Looping Group
As recently announced by France’s Looping Group, the operator group – supported by Ergon Capital Partners III S.A. (cf. EAP news f. 28 Jan 2016) and Bpifrance – has acquired Parc Zoologique de la Flèche, situated in the Northwest of the country. The purchase agreement was jointly approved together with zoo director and majority shareholder Stéphane Da Cunha. Located near the city of Le Mans, the animal park recorded revenues of 14 million Euros and 441,000 visitors this year.
Laurent Bruloy, CEO of Looping Group, comments: “We are very happy to be able to include Zoo de la Flèche in our group’s portfolio and we are convinced that Stéphane Da Cunha and his team will bring a wealth of knowledge in terms of animal keeping and immersive accommodation offers.” Stéphane da Cunha adds, “After having brought La Flèche to the top among France’s most frequented animal parks and zoos, I’m now thrilled to be part of the Looping Group and to work together to with them in the course of the next years. Thanks to this combination, we will – in the interest of our visitors and employees – promote the zoo’s further development and the improvement of its offerings.”
By acquiring the French zoo, Looping Group now operates a total of 13 facilities, including two animal parks. Most recently, the operator group had acquired Germany’s Fort Fun amusement park (cf. EAP news from 27 Apr 2017). (eap)
