Euro Disney recapitalisation completed with TWDC owning 76.71% of DLP

[Jonjo]

Following the completion of the Euro Disney S.C.A. recapitalisation plan The Walt Disney Company now own 76.71% of Disneyland Paris.

The Saudi Arabian based Kingdom Holding Company chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud has injected an additional investment of €49.2 million by taking part in the Cash Tender Offer and Anti Dilution Mechanism as part of the recapitalization rights issue and therefore maintains its 10% share of the resort.

Euro Disney shares are trading at 1.23 Euros today on the Euronext which saw travel, hotel and leisure stocks fall sharply across Europe this week in the wake of Friday's tragic events in Paris.

 

[sunshine1]

If Disney owns more of DLP does that mean the place will be taken more care of now?

 

[Jonjo]

If Disney owns more of DLP does that mean the place will be taken more care of now?

We can hope this happens. TWDC are now the resorts largest shareholder and largest creditor.

DLP sill had a lot of debt, and this needs to be repaid to TWDC by 2024 so it needs to make a profit How it intends to do this has yet to be seen.

If the recapitalisation never went through the park gates would have closed for good this year.

This financial year started well but I expect the results for Q1 will be very poor due to the tragic events in Paris last weekend.

Plus people are staying away in 2016 due to the huge refurbishment programme underway. So this is going to effect the income of the resort.

Let's hope 2017 and the 25th Anniversary beings people flooding back and the resorts general maintenance is kept up and people keep coming back.

 

[Jonjo]

If Disney owns more of DLP does that mean the place will be taken more care of now?

We can hope this happens. TWDC are now the resorts largest shareholder and largest creditor.

DLP sill had a lot of debt, and this needs to be repaid to TWDC by 2024 so it needs to make a profit How it intends to do this has yet to be seen.

If the recapitalisation never went through the park gates would have closed for good this year.

This financial year started well but I expect the results for Q1 will be very poor due to the tragic events in Paris last weekend.

Plus people are staying away in 2016 due to the huge refurbishment programme underway. So this is going to effect the income of the resort.

Let's hope in 2017 that the 25th Anniversary beings people flooding back and the resorts general maintenance is kept up to the standard people expect of a Disney park.

 

[sunshine1]

Wow, i didnt know that DLP would have closed if the recapitalisation hadnt gone through.

Sorry what does recapitalisation actually mean?

 

[Jonjo]

In this case it was a swap of €600 million of Euro Disney’s debt for equity, the deferment of repayments of TWDC's loans to Euro Disney until 2024 as well as issuing new shares. There was also a rights issue and an anti-dilution mechanism for existing shareholders.

Here is a link to an overview of the rescue package that TWDC bailed DLP out with.
https://salonmickey.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/overview-of-the-recapitalization-proposal/

 

[DLPDreams]

I think this is good news for DLRP and despite the tragic situation from the weekend which as you say, will inevitably hit the bottom line (I don't mean to sound crass, just talking from a business perspective), I think the park has a brighter future going forward.

I agree that the aggressive refurb programme will keep some people away next year. I can't make my mind up about a trip, although I'm edging towards waiting. 2017 will be the year to watch though! It will hopefully be a good year for the park.

 

[sunshine1]

Thanks.

Is it true that DLP has never made a profit?

 

[Jonjo]

I think it's made a profit twice since 1992. The operational costs of the resort were hugely underestimated by TWDC, these were mostly the staff costs. TWDC calculated staff costs at 20% when the resort was planned and built but in fact they are actually around 40%.

Europe was also effected by a recession just as the park opened that plunged the resort into huge debts.

We will just have to wait and see what happens in the future.

At the moment the locals are staying away and there are only resort hotel guests visiting the parks. It is also one of the parks quieter seasons. It's the only theme park in France at opens during the winter.

I don't think the French, or more importantly Parisians are in the mood for visiting theme parks at the moment or in the foreseeable future.

 

[dogdangling]

They also need to do something drastic with the Studio's, don't get me wrong I do enjoy it but why not just get rid of the god awful backlot tour and use that absolutely massive space to expand to a marvel , starters franchise. It would be awesome to have something like that in Europe and would certainly boost attendance.

 

[Jonjo]

The Tram Tour is going to be modernised in 2017 with scenes being charged. Rumours are the London section is being changed to a Marvel Avengers theme.