Disney is to buy most of Disneyland Paris theme park operator Euro Disney.
The deal could end private investing in the company after more than 26 years, leaving just two shareholders.
Disney set up Euro Disney to run the Disneyland Paris resort, which opened in 1992.
The American company said it would plough 1.5 billion euros into Euro Disney and aims to buy out private investors, offering 2 euros per share.
The 2015 terror attacks on Paris and “challenging business conditions” in France and across Europe have dented its finances, it said.
The latest rescue follows a 1 billion-euro refinancing in 2014 in the wake of falling visitor numbers and spending.
Image source Flickr
Disney injected more than 400 million euros into the business, while about 600 million euros in debt was converted to shares in the US group.
While the 2 euro-a-share offer is 67% higher than February 9 closing price, it may not be as attractive to investors who bought shares earlier in the company’s history.
Disney first sold shares to the public in 1989 for 72 francs apiece, the equivalent of 10.98 euros, and the stock climbed as high as 165.2 francs in 1992.
It has had to bail the company out through restructuring its debt on a number of occasions and has been gradually increasing its stake. Before the latest announcement it owned 76.7% of Euro Disney.
The latest move includes buying 9% of the company’s stock from Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holdings, which bought a stake in the company in 1994 during one of its early restructurings.
Kingdom Holdings will keep a 1% stake in Euro Disney, and if the remaining private shareholders agree to the latest offer, Disney will own the rest.
Shareholders could reject the offer and keep their shares, but if Disney buys enough of the stock to own more than 95% of the company, it will have to buy the rest under French stock market rules.
Despite being the largest theme park in Europe, Euro Disney has recorded losses in 18 of its 25 financial years. Fewer than expected visitors and fees charged by Disney for the use of its branding have been blamed by investors for its poor performance.
In 2016, Disney paid 75 million euros in royalties and management fees on revenue of 1.28 billion euros.
Bautista Riera, a 12-year-old boy from Argentina, is in a critical condition being paralyzed from the neck down after going on a sudden-drop ride at Disneyland Paris.
Bautista Riera is in intensive care after riding the amusement park’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction which simulates a lift plunging 199 ft after being hit by lightning.
According to reports, x-rays showed the boy suffered a “spine and bone contusion”.
Bautista Riera reportedly complained to his father, a doctor, that he felt sick shortly after leaving the ride and was taken to the park’s infirmary.
The boy’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he was taken to Paris’ Necker hospital for children.
By the time Bautista Riera arrived at the hospital’s neurology unit he was already paralyzed in his upper limbs.
The paralysis quickly spread to his lower limbs and he suffered respiratory arrest before being rushed to intensive care.
According to a report in the Buenos Aires Herald, Bautista Riera suffered spinal cord injuries and is in a serious condition.
Bautista Riera, 12, is in a critical condition being paralyzed from the neck down after going on a sudden-drop ride at Disneyland Paris
Bautista Riera’s uncle told the paper that the boy’s condition has stabilized although he is breathing with the help of an artificial respirator after suffering complications and pneumonia.
Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most popular tourist attraction and the Tower of Terror, which was opened in 2008, is one of its most adrenalin-fuelled rides.
On its website Disneyland Paris states: “Prepare yourself for a mind-blowing adrenalin rush The ascent is followed by a dizzying drop faster than the speed of gravity. The abyss awaits you – Drop in if you dare!”
According to the boy’s family, Bautista Riera was in good health and played rugby, basketball and practiced martial arts.
A spokesman for Disneyland Paris said Bautista Riera had been on three rides at Walt Disney Studios before feeling unwell.
The spokesman said: “When he was accompanied to the care centre, the child could walk.”
In 2009, a British teenager claimed that going on an almost identical Disney ride at the Florida park had caused her to suffer a heart attack.
In 2005, the then 16-year-old Leanne Deacon’s heart stopped and she suffered a brain hemorrhage after riding the Disney World-MGM Studios’ The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride several times.
A trial is due to start next year.
