Alex van Hooff runs the family business Burgers' Zoo. This year he took a rare step in the zoo world with his first acquisition: GaiaZOO in Kerkrade. 'As soon as things get too complex, you have to go back to the core and trust your own feelings.'
Alex van Hooff is no ordinary entrepreneur. As the fourth generation director of the family business Burgers' Zoo, he literally lives among the animals - in the middle of the grounds, together with his wife Bertine, with whom he also shares the management of the zoo. His motivations are not primarily acquisitions, revenue, scale or margin, but animal welfare, sustainability and public education. Yet this year he did something that stood out even in the sometimes harsh acquisition world: he completed his first business acquisition, that of GaiaZOO in Kerkrade.
This was not only exceptional because it was his first acquisition. In fact, takeovers are rare in the world of zoos. Most parks are foundations or publicly owned, with no shares or transferable ownership structure. Only a few of the approximately fifteen large zoos in the Netherlands are truly transferable.
The last time this did happen before the acquisition of GaiaZOO by Burgers' Zoo was in 2015, when Zodiac Zoos was acquired from bankruptcy by Libéma, a Dutch operator of vacation and amusement parks. At the time, it involved the acquisition of as many as three parks: ZooParc Overloon, AquaZoo Friesland and Dierenpark Wissel. 'Most zoos are not BVs,' says Van Hooff. 'And without saleable shares, a takeover is virtually impossible legally. So GaiaZOO was really a godsend.'
No chain
The shares of GaiaZOO were held by two parties: Moraco, the investment vehicle of the Limburg Mourmans family (known for snack company Mora), and the municipality of Kerkrade. Moraco owned 60%, the municipality 40%. Both shareholders wanted to transfer their ownership to a party that could guarantee continuity, nature conservation, sustainability and a love of animal welfare. Burgers' Zoo met all those conditions.
Van Hooff immediately makes it clear that GaiaZOO will not be a subsidiary of Burgers' Zoo. 'We are not a chain and do not want to become one. GaiaZOO will retain its own character, its own team and its own position in the region.' That vision also led to a hard demand: Rob Huppertz, the incumbent director of GaiaZOO had to stay on. Van Hooff: "Without that commitment, I wouldn't have done it. I know Rob well and as director he is the face of the park, knows the employees and the local community. You can't just replace that without losing something essential.'
Market-based park price
Although GaiaZOO and Burgers' Zoo have different identities, they share the same core values. 'We already worked together, exchanged people and had similar ideas about animal care and education,' Van Hooff said. 'As a result, the acquisition felt like a logical step.'
That the ties between Burgers' Zoo and GaiaZOO were already good is no coincidence. Already about ten years ago there were talks about a possible takeover. At the time, the shareholders of GaiaZOO were already considering selling their shares, but those talks came to nothing. Contacts remained intense. In 2024, the director of GaiaZOO informed Van Hooff again that the shareholders had resumed their desire to sell. From then on, serious talks began, which eventually led to a clear one-to-one transaction.
It was a deal in which Burgers' Zoo acquired all the shares from Moraco and the municipality of Kerkrade. The acquisition price was €16.2 million, based on an earlier valuation. 'We didn't haggle on that,' says Van Hooff. 'It was a market-based price for a financially healthy park.'
Seller loan
Advisers were involved on both sides. Moraco was assisted legally by Boels Zanders and financially by Kruger Corporate Finance, while Burgers' Zoo was advised by Baker Tilly (financial) and Dirkzwager legal & tax (legal).
Financing came partly through ABN Amro (Burgers' Zoo's house bank) and partly through a vendor loan from Moraco. It was agreed that this loan would be repaid within four years. 'It had to be a clear and solid financing structure,' says Van Hooff. We wanted something that made good business sense and felt right. It is also nice that Moraco, as the selling party, also remains involved in the deal from a business point of view.
Although Van Hooff considers the acquisition a valuable experience, he has no plans for a next acquisition for the time being. "Running two parks is intensive enough," he says. His focus in the coming years will be on strengthening visitor numbers and ensuring the sustainable operation of both Burgers' Zoo and GaiaZOO. He does this in line with the philosophy with which his family has run the Arnhem Zoo for generations: with a focus on animal welfare, nature conservation and long-term continuity.
Gorilla health risk
The deal was not a standard transaction, yet everyone was constructive from the beginning. 'All noses were in the same direction,' Van Hooff said. 'Everyone wanted the deal to succeed.' Because Burgers' Zoo had known GaiaZOO for years, many operational risks were well understood in advance. This allowed the due diligence process to focus primarily on the legal and financial aspects, which made the process more manageable and manageable.
Nevertheless, there were moments when things got a little tense. For example, during the due diligence, an adviser identified the health of some animals as a possible risk. Van Hooff took a different view. A gorilla can also just have a bad day. Just like us. That does not mean that the animal is sick or that there is something wrong with the rest of the population. They are snapshots.' His entrepreneurial lesson: listen carefully to your advisers, but also trust your own experience and intuition. 'As soon as things get too complex, you have to go back to the core and trust your own gut.'
Meanwhile, the fifth generation of Van Hooff is slowly entering the picture. Van Hooff has two daughters and a son, who are currently still studying. Whether one of them will eventually take over is by no means certain. 'They have to want it and be suitable for it,' says Van Hooff. 'We may be a family business, but not an heirloom. It's not about keeping the name - it's about managing the business well. The welfare of animals, people and organization is always paramount.'
