Here is a good article in Sentinel about potential buyers:
After Anheuser-Busch sale, it could be a wild ride for brewer's attractions
Beth Kassab
Business Columnist
July 16, 2008
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Some corporate mergers sail by with hardly a whimper from consumers. Add theme parks with a devoted fan base into the equation, though, and you've got the makings of a high drama.
Such is the case with the purchase of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian beer giant InBev and speculation over what will become of Orlando-based Busch Entertainment Corp., which controls the company's 10 theme parks.
Internet chatter has pointed to everything from the parks being "closed as soon as possible" to giants like Microsoft or Exxon Mobil getting into the attractions business.
Let's put both of those ridiculous extremes to rest right here.
There are three likely scenarios for Busch Entertainment, whose Florida holdings include SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island. The parks' most likely fate is that a major European-based attractions operator will make a play for them. Considering the Busch parks would likely sell for a minimum of $3.5 billion and possibly more than $4 billion, just two big contenders appear potentially capable of pulling off such a deal.
One is Merlin Entertainments Group, which last year acquired The Tussauds Group -- owner of Madame Tussauds famous wax figures and The London Eye.
Merlin, which is based in England and also operates four Legoland parks and recently bought The London Aquarium, appears to be in rapid expansion mode since it was taken over in 2005 by Blackstone, a private-equity group that also owns a portion of Universal Parks and Resorts. Merlin claims the No. 2 spot after Disney on the worldwide list of top attractions operators with 55 attractions in 12 countries.
The group is planning to open a new Legoland in Dubai in 2011 and announced plans to open a Legoland and Pepsi Globe observation wheel in New Jersey in 2009.
Another likely suitor is Madrid-based Parques Reunidos, the second-largest parks operator in Europe and No. 7 worldwide. Lately, the company has been on the hunt for expansion opportunities in the United States.
Last month it bought Kennywood Entertainment USA, which includes three parks in Pittsburgh, one in Connecticut and one in New Hampshire.
While those parks are minor players in the industry -- especially compared with the Busch portfolio that is often likened to Disney or Universal in terms of quality and management -- it's important to note that Parques Reunidos runs several marine animal parks in Europe, including one in France that features killer whales. The idea that this company touts Shamu's European cousins as a main attraction has not gone unnoticed by industry watchers.
Parques Reunidos already boasts several Florida holdings including Silver Springs near Ocala.
Don't count out the possibility that while InBev considers the theme parks to be secondary to its core brewery business that it eventually decides to hold onto them. Last year Busch Entertainment reported $1.2 billion in sales and $262 million in profit.
After all, it was once widely thought that NBC would shed the Universal parks, but now seems settled on holding on to them.
Lastly, it's not hard to envision a scenario in which Busch Entertainment spins off on its own either as a public company or through a purchase by a private-equity firm.
Given the aggression with which the two European companies are expanding, however, and the appeal a weak dollar would add to what would be a once-in-a-lifetime auction of such iconic American theme parks, it's hard to imagine Merlin or Parques Reunidos giving up easily on a possible deal.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-kassab1608jul16,0,5012862.column
