Kennywood Park has been sold to a Spanish company.

The West Mifflin amusement park, family-owned since 1906, now will be run by Parques Reunidos, which manages 61 amusement, animal and water parks in the U.S. and Europe.The Madrid-based company also acquired Kennywood's sister properties: Sandcastle Waterpark in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier."The Kennywood experience, as visitors have come to love and expect, will continue," park chairman Harry Henninger said in a press release. "Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks. Existing management and staff will remain in place."In recent years, other companies offered to buy Kennywood, "but Parques Reunidos is the first one to share our vision and philosophy," said Henninger, a descendant of F.W. Henninger, who along with Andrew McSwigan bought the park from the Monongahela Railway Co. more than 100 years ago."This has been a very difficult decision for members of the founding families," Henninger said in the release.The sale price is being withheld.Parques Reunidos will assume ownership of the new concert venue at Sandcastle, which had replaced Chevrolet Amphitheatre at Station Square, according to Kennywood publicist Mary Lou Rosemeyer. The Spanish company also gets Kennywood Entertainment's two New England holdings, Lake Compounce Theme Park in Bristol, Conn., and Story Land in Glen, N.H."We have tremendous respect for the work of the Kennywood management team and are delighted to acquire such a quality organization," said Richard Golding, chief executive officer of Parques Reunidos, which owns U.S. parks such as Wet 'n Wild in Greensboro, N.C., and Wild Waters in Ocala, Fla.Kennywood President Peter J. McAneny said in a press release that he was confident the new owners recognize and appreciate "the deep affection that all of the Kennywood properties enjoy with their communities."He added, "They intend to preserve these connections and build upon the history and tradition existing at each of the parks."