Investment in Chinese Theme Parks
MBK Partners, the largest private equity fund in Northeast Asia, will acquire a stake in China's theme park operator for about US$1.01 billion.
MBK Partners recently acquired a stake in Haichang Ocean Park in China. The investment was made through MBK Partners' Chinese subsidiary.
MBK Partners will acquire a 100 percent stake in four theme parks, one each in Wuhan, Chengdu, Tianjin and Qingdao, and a 66 percent stake in a Zhengzhou theme park currently under construction. The Korean investment company will jointly operate the theme parts with Haichang Ocean Park. The stake acquisition price is known to be about US$1.01 billion.
Haichang Ocean Park operates six marine theme parks and two general amusement parks in Dalian, Qingdao, Chongqing, Chengdu, Tianjin, Wuhan and Yantai in China. It is also building three large theme park complexes. In 2014, it was listed on the Hong Kong stock market for the first time as a theme park operator.
MBK Partners made successful investment in theme parks in the past. In 2009, it joined hands with Goldman Sachs to acquire Universal Studio Japan, a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. After MBK Partners’ acquisition of Universal Studio Japan, the theme park enjoyed an increase in the number of visitors and an improvement in business performance. In 2017, MBK Partners earned 1 trillion won by selling it off.
MBK Partners has subsidiaries in Seoul, Hong Kong, Japan and China. It actively makes investments not only in Korea but in China and Japan. In the first half of 2021, it wrapped up the sale of Apex Logistics, an international air freight carrier owned by a Chinese corporation. It reportedly sold the company for around 1.6 trillion won, earning more than 800 billion won in return on investment. In March, it took over a 100 percent stake in China's No. 1 rental car company UCAR for 1.25 trillion won.