Walt Disney Corporation to Acquire Hotel Del Rey and other downtown properties for $112 Million Infamous tourist destination to move to Orlando Florida
AM Costa Rica Staff Writer - Lapri Sloof
SAN JOSE COSTARICA, Apr. 1, 2008 -- The owners of the Hotel Del Rey, San Jose municipal officials, and the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today announced the signing of an agreement whereby Disney will acquire the Hotel Del Rey, an adjacent restaurant, night club, two bars, and formerly public land constituting two downtown parks. This unprecedented acquisition of public land in Costa Rica by a U.S.A Fortune 500 company will be accomplished by Disney, the first USA company to utilize provisions of CAFTA that the Costa Rican Legislature has partially approved. The acquisition of land in Central America represents a new phase for the Walt Disney Company. "The Hotel Del Rey and environs has been often referred to as an adult Disney land, we are taking this action partially to protect infringement on our trademark now that we are entering into the adult entertainment market“, said Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
The idea of the acquisition grew out of talks between Disney and owners of the Hotel Del Rey regarding the next generation of Disney. "We were very impressed by the setup the Hotel Del Rey had, said Thomas James, a Disney spokesperson. "As we became acquainted with the other assets of the hotel and environs, the negotiations expanded to include the nearby parkland. The biggest challenge were the legal hurdles. Disney tasked one of their retired attorneys from upstate to handle the often complex details, it took more than 400 trips in 6 months to seal the deal.
As part of the acquisition, the entire Hotel Del Rey complex will be moved brick by brick down to the Walt Disney new adult resort complex in Orlando, Florida, so that the land that is currently occupied can be returned to parkland. Disney plans to open a waterpark with a “Little Mermaid†theme by the summer of 2010. Disney and municipal officials said the project was a win - win for all involved.
Last edited by Senordos on Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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