Coin-op amusements news | Meraas takeover of DXB theme parks looks more likely

The control of Dubai’s grand-scale DXB theme parks may be shifting into fresh hands next month.

DXB Entertainment, the Dubai-based theme park operator, has reported a net loss of 2.7bn dirhams for the year ended December 31, compared with a loss of one-third of that amount in the previous year.

The pandemic and tourism slump in the UAE has been blamed by the company, adding that its revenues in 2020 fell by 71 per cent to 144m dirhams.

DXB shareholders are looking at an offer from local developer Meraas Leisure and Entertainment to acquire 100 per cent of the issued ordinary shares in DXB. The offer, says the DXB board, is ‘fair and reasonable and it has urged shareholders to vote in favour of the deal at the AGM on March 9.”

DXB is the current name for Dubai Parks and Resorts, under which title much of its hotel and theme parks holdings were developed. It constitutes the largest integrated leisure and attractions destination in the Middle East, with three main theme parks at its centre, Motiongate, Bollywood Parks and Legoland Dubai. It also has the Legoland Water Park. It has been operating for five years, consistently failing to make a profit.