He is also a big stakeholder in Four Seasons Hotels, TWA, Motorola, Apple Computer and Euro Disney.
Euro Disney, the Paris theme park in which Disney has a 39% stake, took years to become financially viable.
If Euro Disney shareholders rejected Center-Tainment's offer, Werner said that his company would "maybe" come back with a cash offer.
Tokyo Disneyland makes money, but Euro Disney in Paris (of which it owns 39%) nearly went bankrupt and remains heavily indebted.
Remember the challenge of Euro Disney back in 1992--and the cries of "cultural imperialism" that roused hundreds to employees to walk off the job?
Mr Bourguignon has been labelled "France's self-appointed Mr Fixit" after turning round the fortunes of Euro Disney as its chief executive between 1993 and 1997.
Not only is Euro Disney worth around 350 million euros as of Thursday's share price of 9 euro cents, it's also 1.9 billion euros in debt.
" Agrees Gilles Pilisson, Chairman of Euro Disney, in which Alwaleed has a 25% stake (see table, page 53): "He's not someone who just flies in, flies out.
Euro Disney has been the butt of jokes for its magnificent losses, but Center-Tainment chief executive Ulf Werner is deadly serious about turning the park into a money-spinning Magic Kingdom.
Euro Disney is 39.8% owned by The Walt Disney Co (nyse: DIS - news - people ), while 8th-richest-man-in-the-world Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia has a 10% holding.
Sounds straightforward enough, though most analysts and regulators are scratching their heads as to how a Swiss company that no one had heard of until this week intends to unseat the management of Euro Disney, and also make the park more profitabile.
Prince Waleed bin Talal , a Saudi prince whose company interests encircle Euro Disney, Michael Jackson, Saks Fifth Avenue, the George V hotel in Paris and Canary Wharf in the Docklands of London, has built up a 5% stake in Apple Computer in recent weeks.
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