Posted by Philip on October 21, 2004 at 09:05 AM CST
From Bionicle site MaskofDestiny.com:

LEGO Company announced today in this press release that "the LEGOLAND Parks will be transferred to a separate company, wholly or in part under new owners." This is in keeping with the company's plan to divest itself of assets "not directly associated with its core business: play materials."

Also revealed in the press release is the expectation of a "total pre tax deficit for 2004 to between DKK 1.5 (and) 2.0 billion" ($250 - $340 million). Two-thirds to three-quarters of the loss will be due to a one-time devaluation of the company's assets (a "paper loss"). The "ordinary result" is expected to be much improved over last year, but still a loss of between DKK 200 - 400 million ($34 - $68 million), not the break even point targeted for 2004.