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Tokyo Disneyland may bid on park
TOKYO, Japan -- The operator of Tokyo Disneyland, Japan's Oriental Land Co, is interested in reviving the failed theme park operator Huis Ten Bosch Co., according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Friday. Huis Ten Bosch's theme park, which creates a 17th century Dutch village lifestyle, opened in 1992 in the city of Sasebo in the southern Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki. But falling visitor numbers and high costs forced it to file for court protection from creditors on February 26 with liabilities of 229 billion yen (almost $2 billion). One of its key creditors is the Mizuho Financial Group, which said in February its corporate bank had loans of 102.33 billion yen (about $865 million) outstanding to Huis Ten Bosch. (Full report) Another Japanese theme park, Seagaia resort at Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu, filed for bankruptcy in early 2001 with debts of 326 billion yen ($2.76 billion). Oriental Land is seen as a strong candidate to rebuild Huis Ten Bosch, given the solid performance of Tokyo Disneyland. However, one analyst noted that the success of Tokyo Disneyland was built on its prime location and the strength of the Disney brand. The Nihon Keizai business daily said that Huis Ten Bosch, led by a court-appointed administrator, was getting in touch with prospective companies that might be willing to revive the company. Oriental Land President Toshio Kagami said Thursday that the company would express its intent by the end of April. A company spokesman confirmed an inquiry had been received from the administrator. There is also speculation that U.S.-based Ripplewood Holdings, which took over the Seagaia resort, might be interested in Huis Ten Bosch. In addition to Tokyo Disneyland, Oriental Land operates Tokyo DisneySea, which opened in 2001 in Urayasu in Chiba prefecture. The Nihon Keizai reported that visitor numbers to Oriental Land's two theme parks grew 13 percent to a combined 24.82 million in fiscal 2002.
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