H.I.S. to take over troubled Huis Ten Bosch park

SASEBO, Nagasaki Prefecture--Travel agency H.I.S. Co. is poised to take over management of troubled theme park Huis Ten Bosch.

H.I.S. Chairman Hideo Sawada announced the planned takeover of the Dutch-themed amusement park at a news conference Friday that was also attended by Sasebo Mayor Norio Tomonaga and Nagasaki Governor Genjiro Kaneko.

"This is an extremely difficult case because of its large scale, but we want to make it into a tourist destination that will represent Japan and Asia," Sawada told journalists.

Sawada said his company would use Huis Ten Bosch to strengthen its efforts to establish sales bases in other parts of Asia.

"I believe this will be a test case for our in-bound customers," Sawada said. "We are making this move because we are confident of success. We will seek to turn a profit in as soon as two years, perhaps three years at the latest."

Sawada also said the "largest outlet mall in Asia" would be built within Huis Ten Bosch within two years. As part of that plan, about one-third of the park's area will eventually become free of charge.

Sawada added that for the time being he would take direct charge of managing Huis Ten Bosch. Other H.I.S. executives will also be brought in, replacing Huis Ten Bosch President Motohiro Higashisono and others.

Huis Ten Bosch officials had considered closing down the park this spring if no new corporate backer was found.

H.I.S. will pay 2 billion yen ($22.21 million) to acquire about two-thirds of the outstanding shares in Huis Ten Bosch by the end of March.

Sawada and H.I.S. executives decided in favor of the move on Friday. According to the business plan released the same day, Huis Ten Bosch's current corporate rehabilitation plan finishes at the end of March.

Under the plan, the company's capital of 12.5 billion yen will be wiped out. Nomura Principal Finance Co. currently owns 99.9 percent of Huis Ten Bosch stock.

Along with H.I.S.'s 2 billion yen in new capital, four Kyushu companies, including Kyushu Electric Power Co., will invest an additional 1 billion yen.

Built on 800,000 square meters, or about 1.5 times the size of Tokyo Disneyland, Huis Ten Bosch began operations in 1992 after taking over the Dutch-themed Nagasaki Holland Village park, which first opened in 1983.

Although Huis Ten Bosch saw a peak of about 3.8 million visitors in fiscal 1996, the number later fell, forcing the park to file for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law in 2003. Huis Ten Bosch booked net losses of 2.4 billion yen in fiscal 2006, 1.4 billion yen in fiscal 2007 and 2.1 billion yen in fiscal 2008.

Visitors in fiscal 2009 were estimated at a record low of 1.3 million. The park employs about 1,000 people.