The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
H.K. fund to pay ¥100 bil. for Huis Ten Bosch resort park
Major travel agency H.I.S. Co. has announced its plan to sell its entire 66.7% stake in the Huis Ten Bosch Dutch-themed resort park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, to Hong Kong investment fund PAG.
Another ve companies also plan to sell their entire stakes to PAG, which will pay a total of about ¥100 billion for their shares and those of H.I.S.
As the business performance of H.I.S. has deteriorated due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the rm urgently needs to improve its nancial situation. Extraordinary income
H.I.S. plans to transfer its 66.7% stake in Huis Ten Bosch for ¥66.6 billion on Sept. 30, a 33-fold increase from the ¥2 billion H.I.S. paid when it acquired the stake in 2010. e rm expects to book an extraordinary income of ¥64.6 billion from the deal for its scal year ending in October.
e remaining 33.3% stake, held by ve local rms including Kyushu Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu), will also be sold to PAG for a total of about ¥30 billion.
Huis Ten Bosch will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PAG.
“We look forward to further enhancing the level of customer satisfaction bene ting from PAG’s expertise as well as [its] marketing know-how,” Huis Ten Bosch Co. President Katsuhiko Sakaguchi commented in a press release put out by PAG on Tuesday.
PAG, with about ¥7 trillion in assets under management, has invested in Universal Studios Japan, a theme park in Osaka. e company plans to begin to formulate investment plans and strategies to attract visitors, including the introduction of new attractions.
Huis Ten Bosch brie y plunged into de cit due to the pandemic, but its business performance has been on a recovery trend as it returned to the black for the rst time in three years in the consolidated interim nancial results for the rst half period ending March 2022.
e theme park is a candidate site for
an integrated resort facility that Nagasaki Prefecture is planning. e amusement park is expected to enhance its ability to attract visitors if the integrated resort plan is realized.
“We have great con dence in the park’s future potential, and we look forward to working closely with the entire HTB [Huis Ten Bosch] team to o er an unforgettable experience to visitors of all ages,” PAG said in the press release Tuesday.
H.I.S. FINANCIAL SITUATION
H.I.S. decided to sell Huis Ten Bosch because its nancial situation has deteriorated amid the pandemic and there is no prospect of a recovery in its core business.
Overseas travel, which used to account for the majority of sales, has plummeted due partly to restrictions on entry into Japan. e rm posted
a nal de cit of ¥50 billion in its consolidated nancial results for the scal year ending October 2021, the worst in its history, with sales declining to about one-seventh of their level two years ago.
Despite a spate of cost-cutting measures, including the closure of approximately 100 retail o ces in Japan and overseas and the transfer of employees outside the company, H.I.S. posted a nal loss of ¥26.9 billion for the rst half of the scal year ending April 2022.
ere was concern that the company could fall into insolvency, as its capital ratio — a measure of nancial soundness — had dropped to 5.8% as of the end of April.
H.I.S. announced on Aug. 26 that it would become a small or medium-sized enterprise by reducing its capital to ¥100 million in a bid to reduce its tax burden.
e company had no choice but to let go of Huis Ten Bosch, a money-making business that at one time generated half of the HIS Group’s operating income.
“With extensive experience and expertise in managing theme parks, I am con dent PAG will make a signi cant and enduring contribution to the future growth of HTB,” H.I.S. President Motoshi Yada said in the PAG press release.
Huis Ten Bosch opened in 1992, and went bankrupt in 2003 when it led for protection under the Corporate Reorganization Law amid a slump in attendance and other problems.
An investment company a liated with Nomura Holdings Inc. supported the company, but its performance did not improve. H.I.S. acquired Huis Ten Bosch in 2010.
H.I.S. founder Hideo Sawada himself became president of Huis Ten Bosch and worked to bolster the company, resulting in it returning to pro tability in its rst year of operation. (Sept. 2)