Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) is in discussions with the Conseil Général de la Vienne with a view to merging the CDA group with the Futuroscope theme park near Poitiers in west central France.

The move would see CDA becoming the controlling shareholder of the park's operating company and taking over Futuroscope's current operations and financing.

The Vienne département, which currently owns 70 per cent of the park, would remain a significant shareholder, with minority blocking and specific governance rights.

Parc du Futuroscope - France's third-largest French theme park and based on multimedia, cinematographic futorscope and audio-visual techniques - welcomed 1.7 million visitors in 2009, compared with 500,000 in 2003. Sales in 2009 were €80m (£68m), with a net income of €8m (£6.8m).

CDA operates 36 leisure sites across six European countries - France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and the UK - with 15 leading ski areas in the Alps (including Tignes, Val d'Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Les Menuires, Les 2Alpes, Méribel, Chamonix) and 21 leisure parks (including Parc Astérix, Grévin, and Walibi).