Switzerland/Australia: Robu Group is New Owner of Melbourne Star Observation Wheel

Founded by Ronald A. Bussink, Switzerland’s Robu Group recently bought the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, one of the touristic highlight attractions in the south Australian metropolis. With a new master plan Robu Group plans to bring exciting new visitor activities and experiences both in and around the Wheel, in the near future. The ownership was taken over from Sanoyas Rides Australia (part of Sanoyas Rides Corporation, Osaka, Japan). Since the redesign and relaunch of the Melbourne Star in 2013, the attraction has welcomed around two million guests until to date.

Robu’s CEO Bussink comments: “Melbourne Star Observation Wheel is an iconic attraction for the City of Melbourne, and since before its official opening I was already very keen to add this Giant Observation Wheel to our portfolio and to create a world-class visitor experience in line with our global expertise in city-shaping attractions. Melbourne Star has proven to be a very reliable and safe structure over the last seven years. We saw the Melbourne Star as a unique investment opportunity, which forms part of our strategic focus on standalone tourism attractions. […].”

Yoshio Nagamatsu, Sanoyas Rides Australia Managing Director, adds: “We're proud of the safe and successful operation of Melbourne Star over the last seven years, and significant tourism and economic contribution made to the City of Melbourne and State of Victoria. We believe the Robu Group is the right organisation to lead the Melboure Star Observation Wheel into future growth, and we look forward to seeing their vision for the world-class attraction materialise. […].” (eap)