PortAventura

Building on the successful previous investment in Italian theme park operator Gardaland, Investindustrial acquired PortAventura in 2009.

PortAventura (www.portaventura.com), established in 1995, is the largest Southern European integrated resort and second largest in Europe. The site comprises an amusement park with 40 rides, over 100 daily shows, 43 shops and arcades, a water park, four hotels with a capacity of over 2,000 rooms and a 4,000 person convention and conferencing centre.

PortAventura is located in the north-eastern coastal area of Spain (Costa Dorada), by the tourist resort of Salou and less than one hour from Barcelona. The area is a major tourist destination which attracts visitors from across Europe. The park attracts more than 3.7 million local and international visits each year. The acquisition was made possible through the close relationships with La Caixa, the largest savings bank in Europe, and its majority-owned investment company Criteria Caixa Corp.
Since Investindustrial’s entry, PortAventura has performed well despite a very difficult economic environment. The company’s positive performance is a result of the industrially-driven approach of Investindustrial and the engagement of a sector proven management team from Gardaland led by Sergio Feder. The key drivers of the outperformance to date are the successfully repositioned commercial strategy, improvements in the park offerings of shops and food, the addition of a new kids area and the tallest rollercoaster in Europe, the launch of an aquatic park and an efficiency programme that has significantly increased the profitability. During 2013, Investindustrial selected KKR as a 49.9% partner in PortAventura.

PortAventura Resort and Cirque du Soleil have signed a five year agreement to establish a summer touring base for the world famous Canadian entertainment company in the resort. The deal envisages that Cirque du Soleil's big top will stage a number of different touring productions, the first of which will be “Amaluna” which arrives in Europe for the first time in 2015.