French Looping Acquires Aquacolors in Poreč Following Istralandia

Just over a year after the news of the acquisition of the water park Istralandia, the largest in Croatia, the French Looping group has acquired another major Istrian water park – Aquacolors in Poreč.

Similar to Istralandia, with the acquisition of Aquacolors, Looping aims to further strengthen its position in Southeast Europe, as well as its portfolio of outdoor water parks. This acquisition allows Looping to build a strong platform in Croatia, with Aquacolors and Istralandia jointly attracting over 350,000 visitors annually, stated the Looping group in a press release. With the acquisition of Aquacolors, Looping aims to attract a total of 6.2 million visitors in 2023.

The Czech family Studénka, which built, developed, and managed Aquacolors since it opened to the public in 2015, will completely exit the business, while Mira Radišić, the current park director, will remain and continue to manage Aquacolors.

– I would like to congratulate the Studénka family for developing the park and making it one of the most beautiful examples of the water park industry in Southern Europe. We deeply respect all that the teams have achieved – said Laurent Bruloy, CEO and co-founder of the Looping group on this occasion.

Aquacolors generated 4.6 million euros in revenue during 2022 and achieved a profit of 1.1 million euros.

In the process of acquiring Aquacolors, Looping’s exclusive financial advisors were Vestibule Partners, part of Pandion Partners, and the transaction amount for Aquacolors has not been disclosed.

Founded in 2011 by grouping seven parks in France, Looping is one of the largest amusement park groups in Europe. Today, it has a total of 18 aquariums, animal, amusement, and water parks, as well as hotels in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and recently in Croatia.

After 2011, Looping continued to expand its portfolio by acquiring Cobac Parc in 2012, Isla Magica in 2013, followed by the acquisitions of Planète Sauvage and Mer de Sable in 2015. Since 2017, their portfolio also includes Fort Fun, Zoo de la Flèche, and the Amarante water park, in 2018 they acquired West Midland Safari Park, and in 2020 Drayton Manor Park. Aquacolors and Istralandia are the latest members of the Group.

– The Looping group intends to triple its business in the next few years, both by developing existing parks and increasing its portfolio of activities. We plan to acquire existing regional locations, build new locations, and establish management contracts for leisure sites for private and public entities, including amusement park owners, campsite operators, shopping centers, investors, local authorities, and all bodies involved in tourism development – the Group stated.

Since 2019, the largest shareholder of the Looping group has been Mubadala Capital from the United Arab Emirates, and with their support, Looping plans to accelerate its growth.