Imagicaaworld, a theme park operator in the west of India, is expanding its presence in key markets to tap into the travel and entertainment boom in the country. The theme park player, which is owned by the Maharashtra-based Malpani Group, is planning to nearly double its portfolio from 7 parks now to 13 by 2030.
“We plan to add one new park every year for the next 5-6 years. These will include a mix of tier-1 and tier-2 cities. The aim is to tap into the growing infrastructure and transportation in and around small and large cities as we eye a larger presence,” Jai Malpani, MD, Imagicaaworld Entertainment, said, in a conversation with FE.
As part of the process of expansion, Imagicaaworld, which is a listed company, consolidated its existing water parks—Wet’nJoy and Sai Teerth in Lonavala and Shirdi each—under the Imagicaa brand this financial year. Another property at Surat called the Amaazia Water Park was also acquired from the Rajgreen Group of Companies and consolidated under the Imagicaa umbrella. An under-construction property in Indore, Madhya Pradesh was acquired by the firm too. These acquisitions have been done at an investment of Rs 770 crore, which is payable over 2.5 years, the company said.
The flagship Imagicaaworld consists of an amusement park and a water park in Khopoli, near the Mumbai-Pune highway. This was acquired by the Malpani Group in June 2022 after lenders decided to auction off the company owned by Bollywood film producer Manmohan Shetty’s Adlabs Entertainment.
Malpani says that the company has taken a loan of Rs 275 crore from HDFC Bank towards its Rs 770 crore investment in acquisitions. While the balance amount will be funded through internal accruals.
Apart from seven operational parks, Imagicaaworld also has a Novotel hotel, as well as an 11-acre land parcel at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad for developing a new theme park.
“The Indore project will be completed and opened by the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The capital expenditure for the Indore park is around Rs 208 crore,” Malpani said.
Imagicaaworld closed the June quarter of FY25 with revenue of Rs 181 crore and Ebitda of Rs 107 crore. Its September quarter numbers will be disclosed next month. In FY24, the company achieved a revenue of Rs 260 crore with an Ebitda at Rs 96 crore.
The company is also exploring public-private partnerships (PPP), where state governments can offer incentives for setting up theme parks.
“With the PPP model, state governments can offer long-term leases at favourable prices, which will help us,” Malpani added.
From: financialexpress
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