Ardent opts for change in set-up

ARDENT Leisure will restructure its business as it focuses on its two remaining divisions, covering Australian theme parks and US entertainment centres.

The owner of the Dreamworld theme park has decided its stapled structure is no longer appropriate and it will instead adopt a corporatised structure.

A new company, also called Ardent Leisure Group, will be the head entity.

Shareholders will then hold shares in the new company — instead of their existing stapled securities — and there will be no change to their ownership levels.

There would be no capital raising program or capital return, and shareholders would not need to pay any cash, the group said yesterday. The board and management will also stay the same.

Ardent chairman Gary Weiss said the restructure would deliver various benefits.

Among them, there would be “greater flexibility to fund investment into growth of (tenpin bowling chain) Main Event and Dreamworld”, Mr Weiss said.

It would also “reduce the regulatory uncertainty associated with stapled structures”, he said.

Broadly, investors with stapled securities in effect own a share in a company and a unit in a related trust – such as a property trust. The two securities cannot be sold separately.

Companies sometimes adopt stapled structures for tax reasons, despite the fact such structures tend to have more complexity.

Ardent’s overhaul comes as it reshapes its portfolio of assets following the tragedy almost two years ago at Dreamworld, where four people died when a ride malfunctioned. The group has sold its health clubs, marinas and bowling and entertainment arms and used the proceeds to pay down debt.

Its bowling and gym properties had been held in a trust, but Ardent said that now they had been sold, it had no need for a stapled structure.

At its full-year results in August, the group said it was considering a restructure and evaluating the merits of the stapled structure.

Removing the stapled structure will require approval from investors, lenders and the regulators.

A shareholder vote is proposed to be held on the same day as Ardent’s annual meeting, on November 20.

Once all approvals have been obtained, Ardent expects to corporatise the company by the end of the year.

The group reported a fullyear loss of $90.7 million for the year to June as its theme parks struggled following the tragic accident at Dreamworld.