Strong Buy for Ardent on Friday, page-21

Listed car park owner Ariadne that is backed by corporate raider Gary Weiss is believed to have amassed a 4.9 per cent stake in the embattled theme park owner Ardent Leisure, according to sources, in what may be the precursor to a takeover.
Ardent was in play last year before a fatal tragedy at one of the rides at Ardent’s theme park Dreamworld.
The Australian can reveal that US-based KSL Capital Partners had been working with investment bank Citi at the time to launch a takeover bid of Ardent, which had Bank of America Merrill Lynch providing defence advice.
However, whether the acquisition of the stake by Ariadne (ARA) is the precursor to a takeover remains unclear.
Shares in Ardent (AAD), which was once managed by Macquarie Group, have crashed to $1.71 after trading at as much as $2.85 last year before the Dreamworld tragedy and are now viewed as undervalued.
Dr Weiss, who worked with Kiwi corporate raider Ron Brierley during the 1980s, is a director on the board of Ariadne as well as Premier Investments.

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Premier, backed by billionaire retailer Solomon Lew, is rumoured to have this week amassed a stake in retailer Myer, and he is widely considered one of the country’s most seasoned deal makers.
Ariadne invests in car park infrastructure, property, marinas and is also involved in investment management and financial services.
It has interests in NatureSeal, wealth manager Clearview and Hillgrove Resources.
Ardent also owns the lucrative Main Event Entertainment business in the US and bowling alleys under the AMF and Kingpin Bowling brands, but recently sold its gyms division and had its marina assets on the market last year.
KSL Capital Partners is a Colorado-based private equity firm dedicated to investments in travel and leisure businesses.
Its private equity investments range from hotels and resorts to clubs, fitness, ski resorts and other resort real estate.
Ardent reopened its Dreamworld theme park in February after four people were killed in an incident on its Thunder River Rapids Ride on October 25, which the company later announced would be permanently closed and demolished.
Ardent Leisure in March said it noted tentative signs of improvement at its troubled theme parks division in February despite logging a sharp drop in revenue.
For February, the theme parks unit — dominated by Dreamworld but also including WhiteWater World — booked revenues of $4.4 million, a level 35 per cent below last year’s reading.