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Disney may have interest in Sea World
- Thread starter Disney MDACK
- Start date
DocMcHulk
Well-Known Member
free willy!
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
We're flushing out the names for the promotion:
"Year of Twenty Free Orcas"
"A Whale of a Giveaway"
"Give Kids The Whale"
"Make Shamu... Up Yours"
and of course
"Seize the Flipper with XS"
Sassagoula-Rvr
Well-Known Member
If Disney were to buy it I would think it would be operated as a seperate entity. You possibly might see some ticket cross-overs but it wouldn't be marketed as the fifth gate. IMHO
CaesarBoxFan
Member
Looks like they're already one step ahead!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113114/
EDIT: Make that two steps!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119152/
Ilovewishes
Member
Excuse me? Why are the Brits getting the blame for this rumour? Just for your info, there is nothing being mentioned about Seaworld being sold off over here at all! I only know about it because I read it in this thread!
CaesarBoxFan
Member
Maybe because the source of the DIS article is this site, a British one?:lookaroun
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/invest...d=449481&in_page_id=3&position=moretopstories
RiversideBunny
New Member
Here's the possible British connection.
If you google 'Blackstone Group Seaworld', items like this come up.
"Blackstone Group, a major U.S. private equity firm, is emerging as a possible bidder for Anheuser-Busch’s theme parks, according to a report in the London Telegraph. The parks, which include Busch Gardens and Sea World, are being sold to help pay for InBev’s $52 billion purchase of A-B.
The Telegraph says the parks may bring between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion. Blackstone is an investor in both the Universal Studios attractions and in Merlin Entertainments Group, which operates British theme parks."
:king:
If you google 'Blackstone Group Seaworld', items like this come up.
"Blackstone Group, a major U.S. private equity firm, is emerging as a possible bidder for Anheuser-Busch’s theme parks, according to a report in the London Telegraph. The parks, which include Busch Gardens and Sea World, are being sold to help pay for InBev’s $52 billion purchase of A-B.
The Telegraph says the parks may bring between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion. Blackstone is an investor in both the Universal Studios attractions and in Merlin Entertainments Group, which operates British theme parks."
:king:
Alex Trevelyan
New Member
Sea World+Disney=bad for Orlando visitors
The Walt Disney Company is not going to purchase Sea World. InBev has severely levered the company to purchase Busch, and it needs a significant return on their non-core assets to start paying down that debt. They are not going to sell the A-B family of theme parks piecemeal, because they won't get maximum returns. Anyone who purchases A-B's parks is going to want the Florida properties, they are the flagships that have significant market presence, and large cash flow. The buyer will need to be deep-pocketed, that eliminates regional players like Cedar Fair, who is highly levered, and Six Flags, which is near bankruptcy (their shares were almost de-listed by the NYSE because they were trading so poorly) Disney is deep-pocketed, but are they going to shell out as much as 4.5 bil. to purchase the parks in toto? It's already been pointed out by Wall Street analysts that InBev does not have to sell Busch Entertainment, it's a highly profitable division, albeit, relatively small, division of the company and there would be no reason for haste in disposing of the assets. They could keep them and wait until they get the price they want.
So if InBev isn't going to sell the assets in pieces, a move that makes little sense to either them, or a potential buyer, what is Disney going to do? Duplicate their animal attractions at AK and BGT? Makes no sense. Pull people off their property? Makes no sense. Disney has overextended itself as it is. Routine maintenenace is lacking at some of their attractions because adequate funds are not budgeted to care for them. What is Disney going to do with another major property located several miles away from their support infrastructure?
Someone upthread made the comment that Disney isn't in the habit of buying other people's parks, that it would have a "used car" feel to it, and my response to that is, Disney might be better served buying someone else's assets, especially the excellent Busch Entertainment properties, if they're going to keep giving the paying public stuff like California Adventure, AK, Hong Kong Disneyland, etc. Parks that are either underthemed, underdeveloped, lacking in rides, or saddled with out-of-the-box attractions that are embarrassing to the Disney brand. The competition in Florida, and this includes the Busch Entertainment properties, are long past the stage of being mere followers. AK was a blatant attempt to corral visitors on property and keep them from visiting the renowned animal attractions at BGT.
Disney has lusted over Sea World's Discovery Cove since it was launched, and that has resulted in Disney's new Night Kingdom concept, aka Jungle Trek to be born. IOA was a result of Universal's management saying "do whatever it takes", whereas the AK that was actually built was different from the AK actually conceived because Disney management said "cut some corners." The new Harry Potter Island at IOA will force Disney into new realms of excellence that have been lacking. Just as Spider-Man apparently provoked from Michael Eisner--"I want a ride like that", which eventually became Mission:Space.
It is in every Disney fans interests that Sea World and Busch Gardens be purchased by a competitor with a continued commitment to go at Disney hard. Everyone benefits. A Sea World in Disney hands is no longer a competitor, it's a subsidiary, and that's not good. The more business Aquatica generates, the more likely it is we'll see Disney pushing the envelope at Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach, or conceiving of a new water park, which was once rumored. Continued pressure from Disney and Universal resulted in Busch Entertainment obtaining the rights to Sesame Street properties to use at their parks, which is a huge plus for park goers. Orlando visitors do not benefit from Sea World being in Disney's hands, I question whether or not we'd benefit from Sea World and BGT being an asset of a holding company that also has significant holdings in Universal. The ideal situation would be for the Busch family to purchase the parks, or for a Dubai group to do the same (the Dubai angle makes a lot of sense since Busch just consumated a deal to build versions of all their Florida properties in the UAE.)
The Walt Disney Company is not going to purchase Sea World. InBev has severely levered the company to purchase Busch, and it needs a significant return on their non-core assets to start paying down that debt. They are not going to sell the A-B family of theme parks piecemeal, because they won't get maximum returns. Anyone who purchases A-B's parks is going to want the Florida properties, they are the flagships that have significant market presence, and large cash flow. The buyer will need to be deep-pocketed, that eliminates regional players like Cedar Fair, who is highly levered, and Six Flags, which is near bankruptcy (their shares were almost de-listed by the NYSE because they were trading so poorly) Disney is deep-pocketed, but are they going to shell out as much as 4.5 bil. to purchase the parks in toto? It's already been pointed out by Wall Street analysts that InBev does not have to sell Busch Entertainment, it's a highly profitable division, albeit, relatively small, division of the company and there would be no reason for haste in disposing of the assets. They could keep them and wait until they get the price they want.
So if InBev isn't going to sell the assets in pieces, a move that makes little sense to either them, or a potential buyer, what is Disney going to do? Duplicate their animal attractions at AK and BGT? Makes no sense. Pull people off their property? Makes no sense. Disney has overextended itself as it is. Routine maintenenace is lacking at some of their attractions because adequate funds are not budgeted to care for them. What is Disney going to do with another major property located several miles away from their support infrastructure?
Someone upthread made the comment that Disney isn't in the habit of buying other people's parks, that it would have a "used car" feel to it, and my response to that is, Disney might be better served buying someone else's assets, especially the excellent Busch Entertainment properties, if they're going to keep giving the paying public stuff like California Adventure, AK, Hong Kong Disneyland, etc. Parks that are either underthemed, underdeveloped, lacking in rides, or saddled with out-of-the-box attractions that are embarrassing to the Disney brand. The competition in Florida, and this includes the Busch Entertainment properties, are long past the stage of being mere followers. AK was a blatant attempt to corral visitors on property and keep them from visiting the renowned animal attractions at BGT.
Disney has lusted over Sea World's Discovery Cove since it was launched, and that has resulted in Disney's new Night Kingdom concept, aka Jungle Trek to be born. IOA was a result of Universal's management saying "do whatever it takes", whereas the AK that was actually built was different from the AK actually conceived because Disney management said "cut some corners." The new Harry Potter Island at IOA will force Disney into new realms of excellence that have been lacking. Just as Spider-Man apparently provoked from Michael Eisner--"I want a ride like that", which eventually became Mission:Space.
It is in every Disney fans interests that Sea World and Busch Gardens be purchased by a competitor with a continued commitment to go at Disney hard. Everyone benefits. A Sea World in Disney hands is no longer a competitor, it's a subsidiary, and that's not good. The more business Aquatica generates, the more likely it is we'll see Disney pushing the envelope at Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach, or conceiving of a new water park, which was once rumored. Continued pressure from Disney and Universal resulted in Busch Entertainment obtaining the rights to Sesame Street properties to use at their parks, which is a huge plus for park goers. Orlando visitors do not benefit from Sea World being in Disney's hands, I question whether or not we'd benefit from Sea World and BGT being an asset of a holding company that also has significant holdings in Universal. The ideal situation would be for the Busch family to purchase the parks, or for a Dubai group to do the same (the Dubai angle makes a lot of sense since Busch just consumated a deal to build versions of all their Florida properties in the UAE.)
Figment571
Member
If a Dubai company purchases it, goodbye to the Americana and support for the troops...
culturenthrills
Well-Known Member
Great post! I really hope the Busch family will be able to convince InBev to keep the parks. They turn a nice profit and I think InBev really has no idea how much free publicity and goodwill the parks and the animal rescue and conservation activities give AB.