Seaworld IPO goes swimmingly
NEW YORK — SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. made a splash Friday in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The owner of theme parks famous for water shows featuring killer whales and dolphins jumped $6.52, or 24 percent, to close at $33.52 after the company and its backers raised $702 million.
The initial public offering of 26 million shares was priced at $27 per share, which was at the high end of the expected range of $24 to $27 per share. The IPO’s size also increased from the 20 million shares that SeaWorld and its owner, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, had hoped to sell. The pricing of the offering and boost to its size suggests that there was solid demand for the shares.
The first SeaWorld opened in San Diego in 1964. It was bought by beer giant AnheuserBusch in 1989 and combined with the brewer’s Busch Gardens park in Florida.
The company has grown to span 11 theme parks housing 67,000 animals. Besides the three SeaWorld parks, the company owns two Busch Gardens parks, several water parks and Sesame Place, an amusement park based on the children’s TV show “Sesame Street.” It had net income of $77.4 million on revenue of $1.42 billion in 2012.
Francis Gaskins, president and editor of IPODesktop.com, said SeaWorld is an “iconic brand” that is appealing in part because its properties are particularly kidfriendly, even more so than those of peers like Six Flags and Cedar Fair LP.
SeaWorld had warned in a December filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its business is dependent on customers’ willingness to spend on leisure and entertainment. The company has managed to do well despite lingering concerns about the economy and high unemployment in the U.S. Its revenue has risen since it was bought by Blackstone in 2009.
About 24 million people attended its parks during the 12 months ended Sept. 30. The company did not disclose how that figure has grown or shrank in the past few years, but says it has a “stable attendance base.”