Ardent in $160m deal

Dreamworld owner sells bowling division

DREAMWORLD’S parent company Ardent Leisure will have more cash to bolster its theme parks after selling its Bowling & Entertainment division for $160 million to the owners of Timezone.

Ardent announced the sale – worth 27 times what the company netted last year – to The Entertainment and Education Group, in a statement to the ASX this morning, saying the group had approached them and they’d entered a binding agreement to sell.

Chairman Gary Weiss said although the division’s earnings were improving, the capital from the sale would allow the group to fund more profitable parts of the business.

“Following an unsolicited offer from TEEG, the decision to divest B & E reflects the attractive price offered and our focus on investing our capital in areas where we can earn the most attractive returns,” he said.

“This sale relieves Ardent of the requirement to make the significant further investment needed to support this strategy and provides Ardent with increased flexibility to continue the expansion of Main Event and the reinvigoration of theme parks.”

Ardent had last month flagged closing some of its bowling centres to carve costs from its bottom line after the Dreamworld tragedy saw theme park attendances slump.

TEEG acquired the assets of Timezone Group last month and is jointly owned by funds advised by Quadrant Private Equity and the Steinberg family.

Ardent is still seeking a CEO for its theme parks division following the shock resignation of Simon Kelly and also for its Main Event operations in the United States.

Interim chief executive officer Geoff Richardson said the entertainment centres, which include an AMF at Robina, would be in good hands with TEEG.

“TEEG plans to continue to invest in and grow B & E and we believe the business will have a positive future,” he said.

Dr Weiss said Ardent’s balance sheet position post sale would enhance the group’s capacity to execute on the pipeline of high-yielding Main Event entertainment centres in the US and reinvest in the theme parks business.