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Merlin Interested in Purchasing Busch Gardens Theme Parks?

Whatever happens and however this concludes, I will ultimately miss seeing the sentence 'Merlin Interested in Purchasing Bus...' each time the thread gets bumped.
 
The plot thickens, apparently Parques Reunidos have approached SeaWorld about a sale. This is a company I think would be very interested in purchasing the SeaWorld parks themselves, after all, they have a specialist marine park division. This seems to be a company that often leaves parks to themselves to decide on new developments.

I would be pleased to see Parques Reunidos buying SeaWorld, maybe not from a theme park perspective (although they have certainly stepped up their efforts lately with Operation Enterprise etc) but simply for the fact that I have confidence in their ability to maintain the zoological programmes. They recently fought against (and won) a breeding ban on Dolphins & Orcas in France, so I can't see SeaWorld's self imposed Orca breeding ban last too much longer under them.
 
In terms of the future of the Busch parks as world class theme parks, Parques Reunidos is possibly less encouraging than Merlin! Their capital investments in new rides are poor.

:)
 
Rob said:
In terms of the future of the Busch parks as world class theme parks, Parques Reunidos is possibly less encouraging than Merlin! Their capital investments in new rides are poor.

:)
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I would have to agree with you, although their two latest projects at Movie Park and Slagharen seem to have gone down well.

You cannot survive without investment in Florida unless you are called Disney, maybe this would give PR a kick up the ass.
 
I watched an interview with Joel Manby (Sea World's CEO) a few months ago. He said that when they do market research the biggest reason for visiting Sea World and the biggest reason for not visiting Sea World is the same: the orcas. It's quite a tough place to be in. The trouble is though, I have a feeling that views on animal rights are going to keep on 'progressing' rather than move backwards. I'd be surprised to see anyone reverse the policy on orcas. I have to say that aside from economies of scale I do struggle too see what Parques Reunidos brings to the table.
 
MakoMania said:
The plot thickens, apparently Parques Reunidos have approached SeaWorld about a sale. This is a company I think would be very interested in purchasing the SeaWorld parks themselves, after all, they have a specialist marine park division. This seems to be a company that often leaves parks to themselves to decide on new developments.

I would be pleased to see Parques Reunidos buying SeaWorld, maybe not from a theme park perspective (although they have certainly stepped up their efforts lately with Operation Enterprise etc) but simply for the fact that I have confidence in their ability to maintain the zoological programmes. They recently fought against (and won) a breeding ban on Dolphins & Orcas in France, so I can't see SeaWorld's self imposed Orca breeding ban last too much longer under them.
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If Parques Reunidos did purchase SeaWorld, I could see the parks being bought under the Palace Entertainment umbrella. For those of you that don't know, Palace Entertainment is a company owned by Parques Reunidos that owns parks such as Kennywood, Lake Compounce and Idlewild amongst a couple of marine life properties. They are almost like an American division of Parques Reunidos. Like @Plastic Person, I am extremely interested to see how this ends, whether it be in a Merlin purchase, a Parques Reunidos purchase or just SeaWorld staying exactly as it is.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
But parks like Kennywood or Lake Compounce don't even look Six Flags size parks, Let alone Florida or California parks!
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The only reason I was thinking Palace Entertainment is because they own all of Parques Reunidos' American properties, even though SeaWorld is a completely different kettle of fish to the parks they currently own.
 
Apparently Parques Reunidos have made an offer of $1.6 billion for the entire 12 parks of the company.

I do wonder where all this leaves SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.......
 
Dear Herschend Family Entertainment, please step in and purchase the two wonderful Busch parks and provide them with a future that they deserve. I have no idea if your finanical position allows for this but just do it. Please. Many kind regards, Rob.

I have no hope for a good future of the Busch parks under Parques Reunidos.

:)
 
“We can confirm that Merlin is not involved in any discussions that might lead to an acquisition of SeaWorld or any of its constituent parts,” Merlin said in a statement, responding to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
 
Fact of the day: Merlin use the same PR agency as Theresa May (that's probably not true, but it sounds plausible).
 
Judging by their record, I think I'd rather that Merlin bought the Busch parks than Parques Reunidos!
 
MakoMania said:
I'm back again to throw another spanner in the works.

Zonghong have today announced plans to construct an "indoor SeaWorld marine theme park" in Beijing. Earlier this year, Zonghong purchased a more than 20% stake in SEAS.

http://m.winshang.com/xm58227.html
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How is an indoor SeaWorld park going to work? I'll be interested to see how this turns out, as all of SeaWorld's other parks are outdoors.
 
Yes, almost all of the job losses have been in the corporate and admin areas with little to no effect on guest facing or animal care positions. However it is still dissapointing to see people lose their jobs in what has become an annual tradition.
 
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