A&O Shearman advised Parques Reunidos (PQR) on the carve-out and sale of Palace Entertainment, a portfolio of over 20 amusement parks, parks, water parks, entertainment centers, campgrounds and hotels throughout the U.S. The buyer, Herschend Entertainment Company, is the world's largest family-owned themed attractions company, with more than 14,000 hosts serving 15 million annual guests across North America.
A&O Shearman acted as M&A counsel for PQR, including advising on the sell-side auction, coordinating the NDA and bidder pool, performing vendor legal due diligence, organizing and executing the reorganization process for the carve-out, preparing and negotiating transition services arrangements, preparing forms of share purchase agreement for the auction, and negotiating the final purchase and sale on behalf of PQR.
"Given the nature of PQR's global business, the transaction required expertise in multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S., Spain, and Australia," said Simon Clark, A&O Shearman Energy and Infrastructure partner. "Our U.S. Energy and Infrastructure team led the transaction with support from our Intellectual Property, Cyber Security, Employment, Environment Health and Safety, Sanctions, and Tax practices. This global multi-disciplinary effort, in tandem with handling the full scope of the sell-side M&A mandate, is a prime example of our firm's capabilities as the comprehensive solutions provider for even the most complex client needs."
The A&O Shearman team also included Madrid-based partner Iñigo Del Val for the carve-out and client relationships, New York-based partner Kent Rowey on client relationship aspects, Andrew Maryan on M&A, Todd Koretzky and Gordon Mak on finance, Dave Lewis and John Hibbard on tax, Adam Sofen on real estate, Ken Rivlin on environmental and sanctions, Brian Jebb on compensation and employment benefits, Sydney-based partner Daniel Harris, Amsterdam-based partners Zeeger de Jongh and Pieter Tieskens on corporate matters, and Sydney-based partner Anna Gamvros on data privacy and cybersecurity.
Supporting the transaction were counsels Laur Badin, Joshua Oliver, Thomas Warren, and Natalie Montano Young, senior associates Denise Kara, Reka Palla, Arwien Oemrawsingh and Koen de Wit, associates Nathan Bodger, Max Braun, Sara Douki, Rebecca Dresner, Jake Ely, Juan Gomez, Austin Grossfeld, Autumn Hooker, Eveline Jansen, Zahra Keshwani, Rachel Lee, Andrea Lisnier, Nick Ognibene, Irina Popa, and Alexandra Sentner; and Claire Hill and Ana Bruno.