Caravan park firm Park Resorts to merge with rival Parkdean

LONDON (Reuters) - British caravan holiday park operator Park Resorts will merge with rival Parkdean Holidays in a deal which will create a combined business worth 960 million pounds ($1.5 billion), Park Resorts' owner Electra Private Equity said. The deal will create a nationwide holiday park operator with 73 sites and annual earnings of over 100 million pounds, Electra said in a statement on Tuesday. Electra said that, on completion of the transaction, a new 550 million pound debt facility that Park Resorts arranged with Barclays , JP Morgan and Royal Bank of Scotland last month will be used to refinance its existing debt facilities. Electra will receive cash proceeds of 106 million pounds, equivalent to 81 percent of its original investment cost. It will retain a 45 percent stake in the combined business when the deal is completed. In 2012, Electra Private Equity invested 70 million pounds to buy senior debt with a face value of 130 million pounds, in the then struggling Park Resorts business. It took a majority stake in the company in 2013 before investing a further 62 million pounds to fund acquisitions made by Park in 2013 and 2014. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham, editing by Sinead Cruise)