Instead, the group said it dealt with liquidators directly.
“Khazanah was never in the process – all of Sim Leisure Group’s dealings were through the liquidator,” the group said in a press release today.
In a filing with the Singapore Exchange on June 12, 2023, Sim Leisure said it had purchased KidZania Singapore for S$110,000 (RM379,700).
The amount contrasted greatly with the total investment put into the discontinued theme park by Khazanah and Boustead Holdings Bhd, reportedly worth around RM165 million, according to a report by The Vibes.
Sim Leisure said the bid for these assets was risky, as the negotiations took place during the Covid-19 lockdown, preventing the group from performing physical checks on the site during that time.
“At that point in time, such a bid would be considered high risk for the company,” the statement said.
Despite some criticism towards the acquisition, group founder and chairman Sim Choo Kheng pointed out that without an ownership restructuring, many theme parks could end up as scrap metal like the Movie Animation Park Studios in Ipoh, Perak.
He argued that investors in the region lack the expertise to operate and excel in the highly specialised industry.
“Most theme park investors are real estate developers, gaming operators and governments with good intentions to catalyse real estate, with most of them cross-subsidising the attraction business.
“At Sim Leisure Group, we live, eat and breathe theme parks; it is all we do, so every business we develop and operate must stand on its own and be profitable from day one.
“It’s not all about buying equipment or engaging IP (intellectual property) owners or foreign experts. These are actually the main reasons (why) they fail,” Sim said.
Responding to reports, Khazanah had said on Friday that it did not sell the discontinued KidZania Singapore to Sim Leisure for RM379,700.
It clarified that the theme park operator had purchased all non-movable assets from the liquidator directly and negotiated a franchise licence with KidZania Mexico instead.
Khazanah’s children theme park in Kuala Lumpur, KidZania Malaysia, also suffered a similar fate during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The theme park was sold to Sim Leisure for a mere RM3.8 million, reportedly after a cumulative RM90 million investment by Khazanah and Boustead Holdings.