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Justice ordered the takeover of Walygator by

a group of French investors

Update : 10:19 Published by François Mayné the 12 March 2013, Corporate.

Justice has decided. After several months of proceedings, the Commercial Court of Metz (eastern France) ordered the takeover of the amusement park Walygator by a group of French investors to the detriment of the former owners, the two brothers Le Douarin who had been in charge since 2006.

Justice ordered the takeover of Walygator by a group of French investors

Placed in receivership following the complaint of a creditor in November last year, Walygator was in serious financial trouble after accumulating several million euros of debts, especially after the acquisition of a used Bolliger & Mabillard rollercoaster in Japan.

Despite regular investments to expand the offer of rides and entertainments, the park's aging facilities have suffered from a lack of maintenance and the visitors have not always been there, which resulted in poor operating results. This situation was made public during the summer after several employees turned to the Labour Court to claim unpaid wages.

The group of investors - consisting of a business woman (Jacqueline Lejeune), an insurer (Eric Lucas), a former manager of Walygator's F&B department (Franck Deglin) and a former executive of another amusement park 'Bagatelle' (Jérôme-François Parent) - made itself known while the judges were seeking a long-lasting solution for the future of the company and thus avoid the judicial liquidation and closure of the park. From their side, the brothers Le Douarin had made a proposal to continue the activity with a third partner, an option ultimately rejected by the Court.

The new owners will pay about €4 million for business recovery. Their project aims to breathe new life to the park giving it a new brand image - including a new name and a new mascot - and injecting fresh money to renovate existing facilities and build new attractions. The amount reported is however limited to the extent that some of the existing rides and attractions will drop out of the site because of not being part of the capital assets of the company.

This amusement park's history is tormented. Born of political will to revitalize the economy of Lorraine Region, it has actually had five changes of ownership and almost as many different names in just 24 years.

Opened in 1989 under the name of Big Bang Schtroumpf (through a licensing agreement for the use of the IP 'Smurfs'), the park does not meet the popular success expected by its promoters and quickly faces with financial troubles. Saved by the Belgian businessman Eddy Meeùs, it becomes Walibi Schtroumpf in 1991 and then joins the group Walibi expanding.

The park evolves with the famous orange kangaroo before entering the fold of the North American operator Six Flags in 1999 that decides to stop the Smurf licence agreement in 2002. Renamed Walibi Lorraine, it changes hands once again in early 2004 after the cession by Six Flags of its European division to the private fund investment Palacom which creates the Star Parks group before selling the majority of its leisure parks to Compagnie des Alpes in 2006. Walibi Lorraine however, is not part of the transaction. The park is sold to the brothers Le Douarin who decide to rename it Walygator in 2007.

In order to best prepare for the 2013 season, the four new owners have decided to delay the opening until May or mid-June. They will keep the permanent staff (some forty employees) and the tickets sold on the internet during the offseason will be accepted at the gates.

The liquidation of Walygator will be pronounced on March 13. Meanwhile, the brothers have appealed the ruling.

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Written by François Mayné

François Mayné Publishing Director » Contact Us
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Walygator Parc (Amusement park)
France

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Site : www.walygatorparc.com

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