The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor, creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
Jamberoo Action Park has acquired Sydney's Raging Waters from Spanish operator Parques Reunidos and plans to rebrand the facility as Sydney Action Park.
The acquisition brings together the two established Australian waterparks under common ownership and creates a business with attractions in both the Illawarra region and Western Sydney.
The new owners have signalled plans to invest in the Sydney park, extend its operating season and develop stronger links with the growing Western Sydney tourism market, which is expected to receive a boost from the opening of Western Sydney International Airport.
According to local reports, existing staff will be retained and season passes and memberships will continue to be honoured as the transition takes place.
For Parques Reunidos, the sale continues a programme of portfolio optimisation that has seen the company focus investment on selected strategic assets across Europe and North America.
Parques Reunidos bought the waterpark – previously called Wet 'n' Wild, from Village Roadshow for AU$40m (US$28.1m, €24.9m, £22.3m) in 2019.
Waterparks remain one of the strongest-performing segments of the attractions market, benefiting from comparatively low operating costs relative to major theme parks and the ability to serve local residents alongside tourism markets.
The Sydney site, which has operated under the Raging Waters brand since 2013, is one of Australia's largest waterparks and features more than 40 rides, slides and attractions.
The deal marks another step in the reshaping of Australia's attractions sector, where family-owned operators and regional leisure businesses are increasingly taking ownership of assets previously held by international groups.
FOOTNOTE
Global to local ownership – other recent deals:
- Palace Entertainment (US): Family-owned Herschend acquired Parques Reunidos' Palace Entertainment portfolio of more than 20 US parks and attractions in one of the largest attractions-sector transactions of recent years.
- Belantis (Germany): German theme park Belantis was sold by Parques Reunidos to French operator Compagnie des Alpes as part of a wider reshaping of international attractions portfolios.
- Blackpool attractions (UK): Blackpool Tower, Winter Gardens and Sandcastle Waterpark returned from Merlin Entertainments' operation to council-owned Blackpool Tourism Limited, giving the destination direct control of key tourism assets.
- Six Flags divestments (US): Several former Six Flags attractions have been transferred to smaller regional operators as the company streamlines its portfolio following industry consolidation.
