Owner of London Eye sets its sights on SeaWorld
NEW YORK/LONDON: Merlin Entertainments Plc has approached SeaWorld Entertainment Inc about a potential deal, according to people familiar with the matter, as the British theme-park operator seeks to expand overseas to offset a slide in tourists visiting London.
Merlin, which runs the Thorpe Park Resort in southern England and Legoland parks across the world, has made a bid for part of the company, which could be a hurdle as SeaWorld prefers an outright sale, the people said.
SeaWorld, which has been working with advisers to explore options including a sale, also received interest from other possible suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public.
The offer comes as SeaWorld chief executive officer Joel Manby struggles to stem declines in sales and the stock price of the Orlando-based park owner once famous for its killer whales.
For Merlin, a deal by the operator of the London Eye and Madame Tussauds waxworks would mark a continuation of its strategy to expand internationally to cope with a drop in day-trippers to the British capital following terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.
Shares of Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld rose 4.6% in late trading in New York Wednesday. Shares of Merlin were up 1.8% at 10.51 a.m. in London yesterday, giving the company a market value of £4.65 billion ($6.14 billion).
SeaWorld which is currently valued at about $1.3 billion, counts Chinese leisure firm Zhonghong Group as the biggest shareholder, with a 21% stake acquired in March from Blackstone Group LP.
Zhonghong didn’t respond to an email seeking comment during the Golden Week holiday in China.
Representatives for Merlin and SeaWorld declined to comment.
Merlin has a policy of not keeping cetaceans such as whales and dolphins in captivity, which would signal that its interest lies in SeaWorld’s Busch Gardens themepark assets.
Chief financial officer Anne-Francoise Nesmes said on Merlin’s earnings call on Aug 4 that the Busch Gardens parks “are good-quality assets and that we would be interested. But it takes two parties to do a deal.”
The company said in August that it expected to meet profit estimates, with twothirds of revenue coming from outside the UK and new attractions opening in China and India.
SeaWorld could raise as much as $1 billion from selling regional parks like Busch Gardens, getting funding to invest in its core aquatic-themed locations, Suntrust analyst Michael Swartz said in August.
Busch Gardens has locations in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
More than two years into an attempted turnaround of the company, the shares of the theme park operator have fallen 25% this year, amid shrinking attendance and missed earnings forecasts.
The park owner came under fire in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which accused the company of mistreating its killer whales. Under Manby, SeaWorld stopped breeding orcas, created a new show in its San Diego park with animals performing more natural behaviours, and invested in non-animal attractions, such as roller coasters and ocean-themed rides.
Blackstone, the world’s largest buyout firm, took SeaWorld public i n 2013 after acquiring it four years earlier for $2.3 billion.
The company sold its final block of shares this year, cementing a return of about 2.7 times its original investment.
Blackstone also owned Merlin in the past. The private equity firm acquired the entertainment company in 2005, bolstered it with acquisitions, sold a stake to CVC Capital Partners in 2010 and exited its final position in 2015.