Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance advises PAI Partners, a pre-eminent private equity firm which is in final negotiations to acquire Looping Group, a leading pan-European leisure park operator, from Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity business and Bpifrance, the French national investment bank. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Paris, Looping owns and operates 18 high-quality, local and regional leisure parks, including theme parks, waterparks, wildlife parks and aquariums, attracting over six million visitors a year. The group’s parks span eight European countries, including France, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Germany and Portugal.
Under Mubadala Capital’s ownership, Looping has benefitted from significant growth investments to enhance its existing portfolio of properties and expand through highly accretive M&A, all while building its value proposition to customers by providing high value and affordable experiences to families in a friendly and safe environment across Europe.
PAI would partner with Looping’s existing management team to drive further organic growth and add to the group’s portfolio of leisure parks. Here, PAI would draw on its expertise in the outdoor leisure industry, which includes past investments in B&B Hotels, Roompot and European Camping Group, to further strengthen Looping’s position as the leading operator in its segment in Europe.
Looping would continue to be led by its experienced management team, including co-founders Laurent Bruloy and Stéphane Da Cunha, who would retain a significant shareholding in the business.
Bertrand Monier, a Partner at PAI Partners, said: “Looping is a young company with exciting prospects. Positioned in the resilient budget leisure segment, the group is well placed to benefit from long-term tailwinds that underpin the local leisure park market. We look forward to supporting the management team in further structuring the group for the next chapter of growth - and, importantly, to continue delivering an amazing visitor experience.”
Laurent Bruloy, CEO and co-founder of Looping, said: “We are delighted with the opportunity to welcome PAI Partners as a new investor in The Looping Group, a strategic match that would allow our group to accelerate its growth and achieve its full potential in the years to come. This transaction would benefit all stakeholders and marks an exciting new chapter as we continue on our path to becoming the undisputed European leader in regional leisure parks. I would like to thank Mubadala Capital and Bpifrance for their valuable contribution to the success of Looping over the past few years.”
Antoun Ghanem, Head of Mubadala Capital’s European Private Equity investment practice, said: “We have truly enjoyed partnering with Laurent and Stéphane, as well as Looping’s thousands of employees and millions of customers. The Looping management team has done a remarkable job in scaling the business and transforming their leisure parks to be amongst the best in Europe, including navigating a challenging COVID environment that reaffirmed the quality of the team and loyalty of its customer base. We are proud of what we have achieved together and are confident that Looping would continue to flourish with the support of PAI Partners in the years ahead.”
The contemplated transaction will be submitted to the relevant employee representative bodies of Looping and would be subject to antitrust approvals.
PARTIES TO THE TRANSACTION
SELLERS
Management: Laurent Bruloy, Stéphane Da Cunha
Mubadala Capital: Antoun Ghanem
BPI France
INVESTORS
PAI Partners: Bertrand Monier, Ana Aliyari, Maud Beldent, Annabelle von Barczy
SELLERS’ ADVISORS
Natixis Partners (M&A): Ludovic Tron, Manuel Lasry, Bertrand Duquesne, Nicolas Hangard, Antonin Durand
De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Legal): Cédric Chanas
De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Fiscal, Social)
Deloitte (Finance)
Roland Berger (Commercial)
INVESTORS’ ADVISORS
Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance (M&A): Jonathan Jacquin, Anastasia Saldi, Sébastien Brasy, Valentin Gillot, Glen Kraus, Martin Leservoisier
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Legal): Christophe Garaud, Grégory de Saxcé
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Fiscal, Compliance)
Eight Advisory (Finance, IT, Legal, Fiscal)
Bain (Commercial)
KPMG (ESG)
ABOUT PAI PARTNERS
PAI Partners is a pre-eminent private equity firm investing in market-leading companies across the globe. It manages €24.7 billion of dedicated buyout funds and, since 1994, has completed 95 investments in 11 countries, representing over €70 billion in transaction value. PAI has built an outstanding track record through partnering with ambitious management teams where its unique perspective, unrivalled sector experience and long-term vision enable companies to pursue their full potential - and push beyond. Learn more about the PAI story, the team and their approach at: www.paipartners.com.
ABOUT THE LOOPING GROUP
Created in 2011, Looping is a leading operator of regional amusement parks in Europe. The group consists of 18 parks located in France, Switzerland, Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Croatia. It welcomes more than six million visitors per year, with revenues in excess of €190 million. For more information on Looping, please visit www.looping-group.com.
ABOUT MUBADALA CAPITAL
Mubadala Capital is the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, a leading global sovereign investor headquartered in Abu Dhabi. In addition to managing its own balance sheet investments, Mubadala Capital manages c. $20 billion in aggregate across its own balance sheet investments and in thirdparty capital vehicles on behalf of institutional investors, including four private equity funds, three early-stage venture funds and two funds in Brazil focused on special situations.
ABOUT THE EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD GROUP
As a conviction-driven investment house founded upon the belief that wealth should be used to build the world of tomorrow, Edmond de Rothschild specialises in Private Banking and Asset Management and serves an international clientele of families, entrepreneurs and institutional investors. The group is also active in Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate and Fund Services.
With a resolutely family-run nature, Edmond de Rothschild has the independence necessary to propose bold strategies and long-term investments, rooted in the real economy.
Founded in 1953, the Group has CHF 168 billion of assets under management, 2,500 employees, and 33 locations worldwide.
Press contact:
EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD
Florence Gaubert: +33 6 25 28 11 51 – f.gaubert@edr.com