M&A Deal Summary

The Blackstone Group Acquires Great Wolf Resorts

On October 2, 2019, private equity firm The Blackstone Group acquired leisure company Great Wolf Resorts from Centerbridge Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 14th transaction in the Leisure sector.
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 161st transaction in the United States.
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 6th transaction in Illinois.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2019-10-02
Target Great Wolf Resorts
Sector Leisure
Buyer(s) The Blackstone Group
Sellers(s) Centerbridge Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Advisor(s) Goldman Sachs (Financial)
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Legal)

Target

Great Wolf Resorts

Chicago, Illinois, United States
Great Wolf Resorts provides safe and immersive entertainment experiences for families in all seasons and all weather conditions across 18 resorts, or “lodges”, in the United States and Canada. Every Great Wolf lodge contains a full-service hotel, expansive indoor waterpark, recreational activities including game rooms, ropes courses, and family bowling alleys, various food & beverage offerings, and themed experiences with proprietary characters unique to Great Wolf. Great Wolf Resorts was founded in 1992 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

The Blackstone Group

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
PE ASSETS 131.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

The Blackstone Group is a global alternative investment management firm. The Firm's investment activities span real estate, secondary investments, hedge funds, credit, infrastructure, and private equity. Blackstone's private equity group targets opportunities globally including buyout acquisitions of established companies, development projects, growth equity financings, and industry consolidations. Sectors of interest include automotive, healthcare, chemicals, industrial, commercial property, lodging, communications, media/publishing, consumer & retail, packaging, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, energy, technology, entertainment, telecommunications, financial services, theme parks, food & beverage, and transportation. Blackstone's private equity real estate group looks for opportunities across North/South America, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. The real estate group will consider both equity and debt investments. Areas of interest include healthcare, hotel, industrial, office, residential, and retail. The Blackstone Group was formed in 1987 and is based in New York, New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 259 of 340
Sector (Leisure) 14 of 16
Type (Secondary Buyout) 50 of 81
State (Illinois) 6 of 11
Country (United States) 161 of 211
Year (2019) 12 of 16
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-09-18 NCR Voyix

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

NCR Voyix is a global technology company focused on providing an ATM and POS manufacturer. The company provides products and services that enable businesses to connect, interact and transact with their customers and enhance their customer relationships by addressing consumer demand for convenience, value and individual service. NCR Voyix was founded in 1881 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-10-04 Sipartech

Paris, France

Sipartech operates neutral dark fiber networks in the Paris metro area, Marseille and Lille. Through its own network, Sipartech provides high-capacity, low-latency connectivity to data centers, telecom operators and corporate clients.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Centerbridge Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Asset Manager
Founded 2005
PE ASSETS 38.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Centerbridge Partners is a mega-sized private equity firm focused primarily on distressed/special situations in North America and Europe. In addition to making control investments, Centerbridge also maintains funds for non-control credit investments. Centerbridge was formed in 2005 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 18 of 25
Sector (Leisure) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 8 of 9
State (Illinois) 2 of 4
Country (United States) 16 of 22
Year (2019) 5 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-09-17 GoHealth

Chicago, Illinois, United States

GoHealth is a health insurance marketplace whose mission is to improve access to healthcare in America. The Company's technology platform leverages modern machine-learning algorithms powered by nearly two decades of insurance behavioral data to reimagine the optimal process for helping individuals find the best health insurance plan for their specific needs. GoHealth was founded in 2001 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2020-03-03 CraftWorks

Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

CraftWorks is a multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in dual offices between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Broomfield, Colorado USA. It operates restaurants, brewery restaurants and entertainment venues.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal