Reported by Mark Jenkins and Nick VinZant
ORLANDO -- SeaWorld Orlando would not say if it has a new owner at an employee meeting Wednesday.
Employees at a company communications briefing asked SeaWorld officials about a possible sale to the BlackStone Group which owns a 50 percent stake of Universal Orlando Resort.
Park officials, however, said they did not have informationon a final sale and refused to discuss the situation any further.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has been trying for months to sell the theme parks it acquired in 2008, including SeaWorld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and the Blackstone Group was recently named as a likely buyer.
“That would be another huge deal. They’ve been up for sale for a while,” said Robert Niles, of the Web site Theme Park Insider.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, however, officials with both SeaWorld and Busch Entertainment deferred all questions to Anheuser-Busch InBev, who also refused to comment
“We will not comment on recent media reports with regard to BEC theme parks,” Anheuser-Busch InBev representative Karen Couck told News 13.
Still, industry experts remained excited about what a sale could mean.
“That would put some money in the pockets of the folks that run Busch and SeaWorld and potentially help them to step up,” Niles said.
Others said they were less convinced about big possible changes.
Blackstone has owned a portion of Universal Studios for years, and experts said they are an investment group that basically just wants their money.
“Blackstone is pretty much been a hands off type of investor,” said Dr. Duncan Dickson, of the University of Central Florida. “They are ruthless when it comes to their bottom line. They just want their bottom line.”
Blackstone is also the majority owner of Merlin Entertainments Group, which runs the Legoland theme parks and has reportedly been considering building a Legoland in Central Florida.
Merlin Entertainments also operates various European theme parks and the London Eye giant Ferris wheel.
Any possible sale sets up interesting twists and turns. After all, since they would be owned by the same company, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Studios would no longer be competing with each other, but teaming up against Disney.
“But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a zero sum gain here. The more attractions you have in Central Florida, the more likely you are going to get people to visit,” Niles said.
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