SeaWorld to be sold?

by Leah Zanolla
Sep 23, 2009

Reports are coming out this morning that the Blackstone Group is in the process of buying SeaWorld's parent company, Busch Entertainment Corporation. Employees were expecting an announcement to be made in a staff meeting this morning with SeaWorld General Manager Dan Brown. Instead, Brown told employees that he would not discuss any of the rumors of a potential sale and that he did not have any big news to share. SeaWorld officials said "the staff meeting was instead a regularly scheduled employee communications meeting that touched on issues such as highlights from the just-concluded summer."

Busch Entertainment was taken over last year by Anheuser-Busch InBev, a Belgian-based beer company, in a merger with the Anheuser-Busch Company last year. AB InBev has been looking for a buyer for the parks as a way to pay off debt.

The Blackstone Group is the rumored buyer, as they have had meetings with AB InBev about the sale. The Blackstone Group also owns a 50 percent share in Universal Orlando.

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• Last Updated: Feb 8, 2012 - 9:40:38 AM