Disney, Merlin, and Others May Bid on SeaWorld and Sister Parks

[Polynesian Dweller]

if InBev does indeed choose to sell off these parks, it would be a huge mistake. Part of the deal to sell should have involved these parks and either an agreement to keep them, or sell them as a whole to a suitable buyer.

AJ, you make some very good and impatiened arguments of the need for a facility like Sea World to continue its contributions to wildlife and our natural world. Admirable and I hope that those can continue.

Unfortunately, its almost certain that InBev will sell off the theme parks. Their takeover history is one of consistently selling off non brewery assets and they will do so here. How its to be done is yet to be seen but that will depend as much on who the buyers are and what parts they want as InBev's desire to sell.

And it will also depend on the price the assets can fetch. If they selling them separately will fetch a higher price then that's what will happen. InBev's bankers want as much from the sale of the assets as possible to get back the money they loaned InBev to do this sale as they can and as quickly as they can. Given what we saw in Canada of the takeover of Labatts, this will be a naked business decision.

I just hope, like you, that the good work Sea World does for the natural world will somehow be retained. Here, Disney may not be that bad a buyer for Sea World. With Animal Kingdom they have entered the zoological world and do interact with other zoos. So they may well have been and have developed some abilities in this area that can be extended with the acquisition of the knowledge and skills at Sea World. It just might be a good fit.

[Figaro]

AJ, you make some very good and impatiened arguments of the need for a facility like Sea World to continue its contributions to wildlife and our natural world. Admirable and I hope that those can continue.

Unfortunately, its almost certain that InBev will sell off the theme parks. Their takeover history is one of consistently selling off non brewery assets and they will do so here. How its to be done is yet to be seen but that will depend as much on who the buyers are and what parts they want as InBev's desire to sell.

And it will also depend on the price the assets can fetch. If they selling them separately will fetch a higher price then that's what will happen. InBev's bankers want as much from the sale of the assets as possible to get back the money they loaned InBev to do this sale as they can and as quickly as they can. Given what we saw in Canada of the takeover of Labatts, this will be a naked business decision.

I just hope, like you, that the good work Sea World does for the natural world will somehow be retained. Here, Disney may not be that bad a buyer for Sea World. With Animal Kingdom they have entered the zoological world and do interact with other zoos. So they may well have been and have developed some abilities in this area that can be extended with the acquisition of the knowledge and skills at Sea World. It just might be a good fit.

Well I won't mind a sale of the BEC assets, but my concern is a decline in the quality of the parks, research, and their overall operations as a whole. SeaWorld is a huge presence in the field of marine mammal research, development, care, husbandry, and presentation. It would be nice to see BEC sold as whole to include all of their parks. My guess would be that the Dubai based company, which I can't think of their name for the life of me right now, would be the prime contender in the market for the BEC parks, or the SeaWorld product considering they have already undertaken the development of the parks in Dubai. I would otherwise hope Universal would acquire the assets. I'm not otherwise familiar with the other potential bidders, but for BEC to accept a proposal from the Dubai based company to build a SeaWorld shows trust in the company, and Universal offers an outstanding product and I believe SeaWorld would be well taken care of should Universal acquire it.

Why would this be in the best interests of Inbev?

It wouldn't... It's moreso from hoping that the parks would be taken care of. The acquisition of the SeaWorld, DC, and Aquatica assets is unique because they aren't acquiring only a park with attractions, structures, etc. There's live animals involved, and a large amount of animals, and all of whom contribute to the study of marine mammals and provide valuable information and contributions to conservation efforts. I also have personal relationships with folks who are employed by SeaWorld, many of whom are on the animal training level, and I would hate to see anything happen to them because of this sale.

... and why would Busch care when...

Well it's been nothing but rumors. When the Dubai announcement was made, the rumors had already been existent and been whispers around the park. It makes you wonder though why BEC would undertake 3 additional parks in Dubai when it was being prepared to be sold.

[gsimpson]

Inbev has said in more than one report that they ARE going to sell the parks and that they must be sold fairly quickly because they have some type of payment that is due on the bridge loans they have taken out in order to get the massive main loans to pay for this "all cash" purchase. They have a history of doing just this with their other purchases so there is no reason to think they won't sell of the parks, the horses, and anything else that is not a core business asset. It is also important to remember that wall street wants this to happen because they stand to make a good penny "advising" and handling the paper work for this sale. Of course they are the main reasons the sale of AB to InBev took place in the first place. They took a company with almost no debt, payed good benefits, and was a good corporate citizen and now will strip the benefits, stop donating to the various charities we are used to, and just be in it for a fast buck. But what the heck, Warren Buffet (one of the main pushers of this travesty) will have a couple billion more in his bank account and wall street will make all of their commissions on the deal, transfer fees with everyone selling their stock, and of course interest off the loans.

To those who worry that Disney will not keep up the tradition of wild life conservation support should they buy BEC, I don't think you should worry about it, almost anyone who buys Busch Entertainment will not be doing nearly as much in the way of good works. Just as InBev has had to take on billions in debt to swallow AB in this "all cash" deal, who ever buys the parks will also need to take on a lot of debt (none of the folks mentioned so far have the resources to do this without taking on a lot of debt), and as a result they will have those same wonderful people on Wall Street explaining that "charitable work" and "being a good corporate citizen" does not pay the bills and "is not part of Seaworld's core business" and as a result they will have to devote the money instead to paying off interest and making the folks on Wall Street happy.

[OleDoleDoffin]

I don't know anything about the other companies listed, but I'd just bet Parques Reunidos is very interested in bidding for these theme parks - much more than Disney is. They have been in a buying mood lately - last year they bought Kennywood Entertainment as well as our rather sad local amusement park. They've expressed interest in increasing their presence in the US. And they already own around a dozen zoological- or marine-themed parks.

[JRocker]

I have been trying to keep my mouth shut for weeks over all of this speculation, which by the way is all you are seeing in the press...speculation.

As an employee of AB, I am (or will be) a victim of this takeover.

We were told in a meeting about two weeks ago that the parks were as good as gone. That a buyer was already prepared to fork over the money when the takeover is finalized.

The buyer is not Disney.

Don't let the press and their guessing games pull you in. There "sources" are usually a photographers friend who had one too many beers.

[Tekneek]

As an employee of AB, I am (or will be) a victim of this takeover.

Sorry to read that. I hope your position is either not likely to be impacted negatively, or that you are already looking to move on. Don't leave yourself in a position of hoping for "goodwill" from the new company.

We were told in a meeting about two weeks ago that the parks were as good as gone. That a buyer was already prepared to fork over the money when the takeover is finalized.

We will all find out soon enough. It's a shame that they sold out.

To me, this is just another example of the negatives that come from having stock traded in a corporation. You end up getting forced into deals that have nothing to do with the values and beliefs that the company was built around. I've seen it destroy all the truly good parts of companies over the years, leaving behind shells that have no greater impact on the world than your average business. I'm no longer convinced that the capital to be gained from going public is truly worth it in the long run, especially if you want to run a company that is going to stand for more than just making a dollar.