SeaWorld may be up for sale. Who should buy them?

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/06/seaworld-may-have-more-suitors-than-you-think.aspx

For my money Disney and Universal would have the most to gain by purchasing them. I actually posted in detail why it makes the most sense for Disney to do so. However, the ones making the most noise now are Parque Reunido and Merlin.

 

[AndyS2992]

Sea World is far below that of Disney’s standards and with all the controversy Sea World has brought on to itself I’m sure Disney wants no part in it. It’s more of a Six Flags or Merlin property.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I can see Merlin buying it. They're bigger than Six Flags and they already have Legoland in the area and the Orlando Eye complex right down the road.

 

[Coaster Lover]

If/when they are sold, I'd imagine that would be the end of the orcas and dolphins at the park. I don't see Universal or Disney buying them and whoever does buy them is in a tough situation in Orlando (and not just because of the whole BlackFish situation). With Disney and Universal ramping up, I think they are really going to put a squeeze on everything else in Orlando. Adding SeaWorld and/or Aquatica as add-on days to Orlando Vacations will be a much tougher sell as both Universal and Disney continue to do everything they can to keep guests on property for the entirety of their stay. I mean, previously, SeaWorld and Universal had a nice symbiotic relationship... there wasn't enough at Universal to justify a week's stay, so it made sense to do Universal for 3-4 days and SeaWorld for 1-2 days and between the two it filled a week nicely, especially when you could get the "Orlando Flex Pass" and hop between those parks as you wanted. Once Universal adds their 3rd gate, I have to wonder if they pull out of the "Orlando Flex Pass" and once that happens, I'd imagine numbers at SeaWorld could tank (no pun intended).

 

[JamieCoops]

Disney already has Dolphins and fish at Epcot, so it's not impossible for Disney to make a deal with Seaworld, especially if they felt the need to add waterlife/aquarium animals to Animal Kingdom.

And honestly, I dont think people have that much of a problem with orca's in captivity as long as they have a big enough enclosure and taken care of, I think what most people have trouble with is the shows, which are being discontinued.

Disney has dolphins in Epcot? Where ...?

 

[Big Bang]

I can honestly see Universal making a play for SeaWorld's Orlando location. I'm not very certain of them retaining the live animals at the park, but I can see them transitioning it over time. Probably a big selling point (or buying in this case) would be Aquatica being right next door, and Discovery as well. Plus SeaWorld still has some open land, so if they wanted to restructure some parts of the park they have some room to maneuver.

 

[Swoosh32]

Once Universal adds their 3rd gate, I have to wonder if they pull out of the "Orlando Flex Pass" and once that happens, I'd imagine numbers at SeaWorld could tank (no pun intended).

USO pulled out of that as soon as VB opened. There’s no such thing as the Orlando Flex Pass anymore.

 

[seascape]

I can honestly see Universal making a play for SeaWorld's Orlando location. I'm not very certain of them retaining the live animals at the park, but I can see them transitioning it over time. Probably a big selling point (or buying in this case) would be Aquatica being right next door, and Discovery as well. Plus SeaWorld still has some open land, so if they wanted to restructure some parts of the park they have some room to maneuver.

An interesting thing brought up on the Six Flags earnings call is that they are interested in buying some US based themeparks if the price is right. Given the horrible market cap of Seaworld it would be interesting to see if a merger could be worked out. Seaworld has a major problem with their Chinese partners financial issues so they need to do something soon.

 

[Big Bang]

An interesting thing brought up on the Six Flags earnings call is that they are interested in buying some US based themeparks if the price is right. Given the horrible market cap of Seaworld it would be interesting to see if a merger could be worked out. Seaworld has a major problem with their Chinese partners financial issues so they need to do something soon.

Interesting. I have to wonder if Six Flags is ready to throw its hat into areas where they would compete against Universal or Disney though. They seem to do well in areas where they don't have to directly compete, so it makes me wonder if they are looking at these kinds of markets.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Interesting. I have to wonder if Six Flags is ready to throw its hat into areas where they would compete against Universal or Disney though. They seem to do well in areas where they don't have to directly compete, so it makes me wonder if they are looking at these kinds of markets.

If they stuck to thrill rides and coasters, they could beat Uni and the local I-Drive places for that niche market, unless Uni is going to make one of its new theme parks a double-down on thrill rides and coasters.

 

[seascape]

If they stuck to thrill rides and coasters, they could beat Uni and the local I-Drive places for that niche market, unless Uni is going to make one of its new theme parks a double-down on thrill rides and coasters.

I wish I knew the break down of attendance at Universal and WDW between local residents and tourists staying at hotels and timeshares. As Universal continues to expand into a 4 gate park like Disney they will care less and less on locals. That opens the market to a company like Six Flags. The population of the Otlando Metropolitan area will continue to grow and so will the ticket prices for annual passes at both Disney and Universal. If either Six Flags or Cedar Fair purchased SeaWorld and included admission in their annual passes they could make a great deal of money as Seaworld would gain attendance being the day away option for no cost for tens of thousands of tourists staying/going to either park. BTW, if you look at DVC ownership from NYC and NJ along Six Flags passes Seaworld would make a wonderful addition. It also fits in with California. I was told by DVC a couple of years ago that Staten Island has the largest number of owners of county in the country.

 

[maxairmike]

Interesting. I have to wonder if Six Flags is ready to throw its hat into areas where they would compete against Universal or Disney though. They seem to do well in areas where they don't have to directly compete, so it makes me wonder if they are looking at these kinds of markets.

Six Flags would be more inclined to take the BGT if they would get to the point of being willing to sell assets separately, I would imagine. You're not going directly against Disney/Universal, and there's already a pretty good local passholder base that you don't necessarily need to grow immediately.

 

[Dead2009]

If they stuck to thrill rides and coasters, they could beat Uni and the local I-Drive places for that niche market, unless Uni is going to make one of its new theme parks a double-down on thrill rides and coasters.

They'd buy Busch Gardens if they wanted to stick to thrill rides.

 

[WWWD]

I think if Sea World promoted Sea World Rescue in a bigger way, they would be attractive to many buyers. They should promote their theme parks as a mechanism of funding their rescue mission of helping oceans. The people who criticized them over Blackfish probably have little idea of all the good they really do to help sea creatures.