Candover to buy Spanish amusement park operator

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Candover Investments (CDI.L) has agreed to buy Spanish amusement park operator Parques Reunidos with an eye toward doubling the company's size over the next few years.

The sale price was not disclosed in a joint statement released on Monday, but a person close to the situation who asked not to be named pegged it at about 900 million euros ($1.2 billion). Madrid-based Parques Reunidos operates 22 amusement, animal and water parks across Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Norway and Argentina, including the Madrid Zoo.

It reported pro-forma revenue of 193.5 million euros last year derived from 9.2 million visitors, Candover said.

Candover is buying the company from fellow private equity firm Advent International, which took Parques Reunidos private in 2003 and subsequently expanded the group by acquisition. That deal valued Parques Reunidos at 173 million euros and was the first private equity buyout of a public company in Spain.

Marek Gumienny, managing director at Candover, said the aim was to double the size of Parques Reunidos over the next few years with acquisitions and by improving the group's performance, in part with additional marketing.

"These are pretty unique assets and we have huge ambitions for the group," Gumienny said.

Amusement parks and other tourist attractions have increasingly drawn the attention of private equity firms in recent years, including Dubai International Capital, which bought the owner of the Madame Tussauds attractions in 2005, and The Blackstone Group [BG.UL], which has bought Legoland and others.

The Parques Reunidos deal includes a substantial minority investment from UK travel firm Bourne Leisure, which Candover has previously backed on other deals. Candover sold its stake in Bourne Leisure, the UK's largest caravan park operator, back to the company in February 2004.