Euro Disney S.A.S. is a wholly owned subsidiary of
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
responsible for
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
in
Marne-la-Vallée
Marne-la-Vallée () (English language, English: Marne Valley) is a new town located near Paris, France.
Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studios Park, Val d'Europe, University of Marne la Vallée, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, ESIEE Par ...
, France.
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
comprises
Disneyland Park,
Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park ( French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 16 March 2002, and it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company t ...
,
Disney Village, and seven on-site Disney Hotels.
Val d'Europe is a new residential and shopping development. Another seven hotels/residences have been built not far from the two Disney theme parks on land held under Euro Disney SCA's lease, including properties from companies such as
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
,
Kyriad, MyTravel and
Radisson Hotels.
Prior to 2017, it was a publicly listed French company Euro Disney S.C.A. Since then has been de-listed and become a wholly owned subsidiary. Euro Disney S.C.A was a result of an agreement signed on 24 March 1987 between The Walt Disney Company and the French Authorities for the development of a new tourist destination, and construction began within a year. Since opening on 12 April 1992, the Resort has created more than 30,000 jobs (both directly and indirectly) in the region to the east of Paris. In 2012, it was the number one tourist destination in Europe with 16 million visits recorded. .
History
1980s
In May 1985, Walt Disney Productions indicated that they would build a European Disneyland park with a location expected to be selected by September.
[Maclean's]
July 8, 1985
Volume 98. Page 42. A letter of intent was signed on 15 December 1985 by CEO
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
and then French Prime Minister
Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...
in regards to building the theme park at
Marne-la-Vallée
Marne-la-Vallée () (English language, English: Marne Valley) is a new town located near Paris, France.
Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studios Park, Val d'Europe, University of Marne la Vallée, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, ESIEE Par ...
, France on 4400 acres.
[Time]
December 30, 1985
Volume 126. Page 64. The theme park plans were approved by the
ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
regional council on 11 July 1986.
[The New York Time]
July 12, 1986
Page 34. The Walt Disney Company appointed
Robert Fitzpatrick as Euro Disneyland president on 12 March 1987.
[The New York Times, 13 March 1987. Page D4.] On 24 March 1987 Euro Disney signed an agreement with the French government.
[The New York Times]
March 25, 1987
Page D3. Construction on
Euro Disney Resort began in August 1988.
[Disney Magazine, Fall 1997. Page 72.] In February 1989, Euro Disney SCA was created to license The Walt Disney Company's intellectual property and run the French theme park.
[Disneyland Paris – In Brief]
by ?, 1994. Euro Disney went public by trading on the Paris Stock Exchange on 8 October at US$14 a share with 42.9 million shares sold.
[The Keys to the Kingdom, by Kim Masters, 2001. Page 281.] However, French communists pelted Eisner with eggs, flour and tomato sauce during the stock launch.
1990s
In 1990, The Disney Company issued US$2.25 billion in convertible bonds through Merrill Lynch to fund building Euro Disneyland .
[Forbes]
Volume 146. Page 208. with an additional US$770 million in bonds offered by Euro Disney in October.
by Kim Masters, 2001. Page 281. The second international Disney theme park,
Euro Disneyland, opens as part of
Euro Disney Resort in
Marne-la-Vallée
Marne-la-Vallée () (English language, English: Marne Valley) is a new town located near Paris, France.
Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studios Park, Val d'Europe, University of Marne la Vallée, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, ESIEE Par ...
, France on 12 April 1992, with five theme lands: Adventureland, Discoveryland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Main Street plus Festival Disney resort area.
[The New York Times]
April 13, 1992
Page A1.
2000s
In 2005, Euro Disney delisted from the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
2010s
In 2013,
Virginie Calmels became the chairman of Euro Disney's supervisory board.
In 2015, the company was restructured with a $1.3Bn recapitalisation, The Walt Disney company injected EUR420 Million and converted EUR600 Million of debt into capital. The restructuring also came with a 9-to-1 rights issue, hoping to raise EUR351 Million
In 2017,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
offered an informal takeover of Euro Disney SCA, buying 9% of the company from
Kingdom Holding and an open offer of 2 Euro per share for the remaining stock. This brought The Walt Disney Company's total ownership to 85.7%. The Walt Disney company will also invest an additional 1.5 Billion Euro to strengthen the company.
On 13 June 2017,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
announced the offer was successful and they hold over the 95%, Euro Disney S.C.A was delisted on 20 June, falling entirely under
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of the Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort.
Led ...
for the first time in its 25-year history, making The Walt Disney Company the sole owners of the Disneyland Paris property.
Administration
* Présidente of Disneyland Paris – Natacha Rafalski
** Senior vice president, Commercial – Grégoire Champetier
*** Boris Solbach – Vice President, Finance & chief financial officer
** Senior vice president, Operations & COO – Daniel Delcourt
*** Angela Bliss – Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
*** Gilles Dobelle – Vice president, Legal
** Francesca Romana Gianesin – Senior vice president, Experience & Product Synergy & Integration
References
* Retrieved from
External links
Euro Disney SCA official site: English version
Disneyland Paris official siteVal d'Europe official site
{{Authority control
Disneyland Paris
Travel and holiday companies of France
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
2017 mergers and acquisitions