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17 Feb 2015
Invesco sells stake in struggling Euro Disney
By Tom Anstey
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Despite its current financial problems, Euro Disney is still the most visited attraction on the continent
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Following the €1bn (US$1.2bn, £785m) restructuring of debt and multi-million euro net loss for 2014 of Euro Disney, fund manager Invesco has sold its 6 per cent stake in the company ahead of a €420m (US$527m, £329m) rights issue by Disney which will be open to all investors.
A statement from the Financial Markets Authority, France’s stock exchange regulator, said that Ivesco’s shares had fallen “below the threshold of 5 per cent of the capital and voting rights of Euro Disney and it no longer holds any shares in this company.”
Walt Disney owns 39.8 per cent of the park’s shares, with a further 10 per cent in the hands of Saudi tycoon Prince Alwaleed. The third-largest investor was Invesco, which had more than doubled its stake over the past two years.
Despite having assets worth €2.2bn (US$2.5bn, £1.6bn) and being Europe’s most visited tourist attraction, Euro Disney has a market capitalisation of just €48.3m (US$55m, £35.8m). The park’s shares have lost nearly a third of their value since 2012, with shares recently hitting a near all-time low of €1.24 (US$1.41, £0.92).
Euro Disney’s next major boost is expected to come in 2016, when it will open a new leisure complex, Villages Nature – a sustainable vacation destination concept in partnership with holiday apartment rental company Pierre et Vacances.
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