BELIEVE IT: Guinness World Records brand sold to Ripley Entertainment

By: Biz Journals


San Antonio's Guinness World Records Museum and Ripley's Haunted Adventure attractions are now part of a same ownership group.

The Jim Pattison Group, Canada's third largest private company with more than $6.3 billion in sales, has purchased Guinness World Records from HIT Entertainment Ltd. in London.

In the United States, the Pattison Group owns Ripley Entertainment Inc., the owner of the Ripley's Haunted Adventure brand. For the past decade, Ripley has held the global licensing rights from HIT Entertainment to develop Guinness World Records Museums over the world based on the popular-selling book.

As a result of the acquisition, however, both the Guinness World Records Museum brand and the book have been folded under the Pattison Group.

Financial details are not being disclosed.

There are six Guinness World Record museums and attractions worldwide, including in Tokyo; Niagara Falls, Canada; Hollywood; San Antonio; Gatlinburg, Tenn.; and Copenhagen, Denmark.

In San Antonio, the Guinness World Records Museum and Ripley's Haunted Adventure are both located downtown across from the Alamo.

Guinness World Records had been a division of London-based HIT Entertainment, an independent producer and distributor of family programming worldwide. Established in 1989, HIT holds children's character rights for Bob the Builder, Barney, Thomas & Friends, Pingu, Fireman Sam and Angelina Ballerina.

"Guinness World Records is an iconic brand, and we are delighted to have been given the opportunity by HIT Entertainment to add this global leader in world records to our group," says Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ripley Entertainment Inc.

"The coming together of Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe It or Not! creates an historic combination of the world-leading authorities on records and record-breaking, and all that is unbelievable," Pattison says.