Busch parks doomed? (8/5 update)

[Westcot]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/article544616.ece

The world's biggest beermaker is readying a $46-billion bid for Anheuser-Busch Cos., touching off speculation the Busch theme parks will be spun off or sold.

That would include 10 theme and water parks, including Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa and SeaWorld Adventure Park in Orlando. Busch recently moved the headquarters of Busch Entertainment Corp. unit to Orlando after agreeing to build two parks for the government of Dubai.

A Belgian brewing conglomerate that owns 200 beer brands in 32 countries, InBev plans to offer at least a 20 percent premium for the owner of Bud Light, Budweiser and brands that control half the U.S. beer market, according to the Financial Times. InBev, maker of Becks, Stella Artois and Bass, controls 11 percent.

It's doubtful the Belgians are a welcome suitor. Autocratic August Busch III, who ran the family brewery for 30 years, retired 18 months ago. That left his son, August Busch IV, in charge. The Busch family owns 4 percent of the stock, so the company has to deal with a reasonable bid.

Neither company is talking. But the added debt will be enough that the Financial Times says InBev hopes to raise $6-billion selling A-B's parks and aluminum recycling business.

A likely defense: Busch makes itself too expensive by buying the other half of the Mexican maker of Corona. Another sign investors think no deal is forthcoming: shares of SABMiller, the brewer of Miller beer and the company InBev supposedly goes after if it doesn't win A-B, perked up in the past week on the speculation.

The Busch theme parks wouldn't disappear under new ownership.

"The Busch parks are strong enough to stand on their own," said Dennis Spiegel, a Cincinnati theme park consultant. "I can see overseas buyers or even Walt Disney Co. interested in the Sea World parks. Parks like these rarely get on the market."

Others think InBev would keep the parks.

"Big players who bought into parks like Universal were supposed to sell, but kept them," said John Robinette, senior vice president of Economic Research Associates, the firm that did the feasibility studies for Walt Disney World and for Busch to buy SeaWorld in 1990. "Parks need a lot of capital, but it's a high-margin business."

Busch Entertainment brings in 8 percent of its parent's revenues. The parks earned $162-million in 2007 on revenues of $1.2-billion. That's twice the profit of a decade ago, before Busch went on a capital spending spree. Since 2005 Busch has spent $332-million on new attractions.

Busch sees marketing value from parks that associate a beer company with fun, family and environmental stewardship. That's less important to InBev, which zeroes in on fat marketing budgets to hammer national brews into parts of the global conglomerate.

This doesn't sound so good for the Busch parks, and it's a real shame. Let's hope that the Busch family can figure out some way to save the company.

[Squid2]

I don't see this deal going through without one of the biggest fights in hostile takeover history. The Busch family doesn't want to sell, and this would give InBev a near monopoly in the beer industry in the U.S.A. And the investors don't think it's a good match.

Squid2

[TheFreshEffect]

'InBev Gardens'

Ew, no thanks!

[Alpengeist]

I don't see this deal going through without one of the biggest fights in hostile takeover history. The Busch family doesn't want to sell, and this would give InBev a near monopoly in the beer industry in the U.S.A. And the investors don't think it's a good match.

Squid2

I hope you're right, because just the thought makes my stomach turn.


'InBev Gardens'

Ew, no thanks!

I doubt that would happen. They would most likely sell the parks.:mad:

[Westcot]

If this merger ever went through (and I pray that it doesn't), I could picture Universal trying to cash in on the SeaWorld resort. Their Wet-n-Wild water park is losing interest, and a chance for a third theme park would be welcomed by them. Aquatica would appeal to them as it attracts quite a crowd.

Busch Gardens... I cringe when I think what could happen to them. I doubt that Six Flags would try to buy them out, but there is somewhat of a possibility. I just don't want to think about it now. If Busch ever was merged, I just hope that they would keep Busch running it or perhaps spin it off into a separate company still headed by the same people.

I have some hope, though. Anheuser-Busch is the largest American-owned brewer, so that would also be a shame if the company was sold.

[Alpengeist]

I'm sure there would be a couple of companies interested in SWO, the park is a cash cow. Heck, even the mouse down the street might give it a thought.

[CedarPointer]

If this merger ever went through (and I pray that it doesn't), I could picture Universal trying to cash in on the SeaWorld resort. Their Wet-n-Wild water park is losing interest, and a chance for a third theme park would be welcomed by them. Aquatica would appeal to them as it attracts quite a crowd.
Also, the land that Wet-n-Wild is on is only leased, and that lease is running out soon. It is doubtful that the lease will be renewed.

[Rupeeman]

'InBev Gardens'

Ew, no thanks!
No,wait!It`s Inbevland Africa!:p

[catgrrl]

Don't break my heart here. BGE is my home park.


As long as Busch Gardens Europe keeps its atmosphere and fun, then it doesn't matter to me if another company buys it. Maybe they can change it back to "The Old Country" which was a much cuter name.

[Squid2]

I'd much prefer that Busch runs the parks, even if they have to spin them off into their own company to keep them out of the line of fire. I don't want anyone else controlling these parks... they have their own special magic, and I think anyone else, including Disney, Cedar Fair, or (shudder) Six Flags would ruin them.

Squid2

[catgrrl]

Well, I definitely agree with that. I've gone to BGE almost every year since I was a toddler. (I'm 27 if that gives a reference). I'd hate to lose such a special place, that I enjoy now as much as I did then, and hope to my whole life. I've always felt lucky to live within an hour of such a great park.

If another company can keep that magic going without changing the format, then I'd be OK. But, I do fear that they would try to incorporate their own brand of flair to the park, and possibly destroy the uniqueness of BGE.

I didn't plan on going this year, but I think I will make an effort to go at this point. Just in case. (Even though I'm sure that nothing will happen)

[Hyde244]

Has it occurred to anyone that the Theme Park department of Busch already floats itself, and could live on without Anheuser as a parent company?

The parks can, and do, sustain themselves.

[Cedar Point]

If it gets sold, I'd rather it get sold to Cedar Fair, considering a small, family company wouldn't be able to support a park that big.

[Westcot]

^ I wouldn't. KABOOM... park destroyed! :cry:

Like Hyde244 said, these parks are pretty much sustained by themselves already (which I never really knew before) and seeing the second largest amusement company taking over really wouldn't help much in my opinion. I have a feeling that we'd see more Flight Deck and less original themed attractions.

[Alpengeist]

^...Not to mention probably ruining my Kumba with trim brakes.

[CedarPointer]

^ I wouldn't. KABOOM... park destroyed! :cry:

Like Hyde244 said, these parks are pretty much sustained by themselves already (which I never really knew before) and seeing the second largest amusement company taking over really wouldn't help much in my opinion. I have a feeling that we'd see more Flight Deck and less original themed attractions.
Does anyone remember the condition the Paramount parks were in before CF bought them? I remember the term "dump" being used quite frequently...

[Westcot]

^ Yes, but the current Busch parks are in 100% better condition than the old Paramount Parks were. The only way to go is down.

[CedarPointer]

^The only reason CF changed a lot of the ride names to admittedly horrid names is because they had to. I don't think they would change BG too much.

[mykpfsu]

Please no. I don't need Howl-O-Scream replaced by some kid friendly event!

[Westcot]

^ Actually, Cedar Fair has Halloween Haunt and other related "haunts" that are very similar.

Cedar Fair and Busch Gardens can't match, and I just don't want to see what would happen if they did.

[RCT Enthusiast]

Well this is bad news...the only company I want to see running Busch parks is Busch!:(

[Vans_boy]

If it gets sold, I'd rather it get sold to Cedar Fair, considering a small, family company wouldn't be able to support a park that big.
I hope that doesnt happen. Cedar Fair have great rides but they have no theming or very minimal theming. Busch Gardens manages to have great rides as well as nice theming and atmosphere. I think if Cedar Fair were to run the parks then it just wouldnt be the same.

[rydrmr9]

wats going to happen to Aquatica i just opened in march of 2008. (i dont see busch ever selling there parks but if they do Disney would be a good candidate.)

[Westcot]

^ Them or Universal.

The latest update...

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/anheuser-talking-mexico-based-modelo-merger/

To add yet another twist to the InBev/Anheuser-Busch possible merger, The Wall Street Journal reported that Anheuser in talks with Grupo Modelo SA about a possible merger.

A possible deal between Mexico-based Modelo (GPMCF) and Anheuser (BUD: 61.40, +3.05, +5.22%) could be used to thwart the $46.3 billion unsolicited bid from InBev for the Saint Louis-based brewer.

InBev publicly released its takeover plans Wednesday evening to purcahse the brewer for $65 a share. The bid has taken heat from several figures in the industry and in the political sphere.

Anheuser currently owns a 50% stake in Modelo, the brewer of Corona and Pacifico. The company currently has a 57% market share of the Mexican national beer market.

There could be some interesting historical and cultural synergies between the two companies, the Journal reported. Both Anheuser and Modelo are family-controlled business with a iconic history in their respective countries. They also have worked together for years to distribute the companies’ respective beer brands.


EDIT 6/13:

(from CNN.com)

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- For years Anheuser-Busch Co.'s (BUD) theme parks have been a good venue for marketing its Budweiser beer to millions of parched customers.

Belgian-based InBev NV (INB.BT) announced Thursday it plans to buy Anheuser- Busch for $47 billion, creating the first global beer company. The merger would combine InBev's sales in Western Europe, Latin America and Canada with Anheuser's dominant position in the U.S. market.

Anheuser's amusement parks, including popular SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks, could be sold if InBev's bid is successful. In a conference call Thursday, InBev said it may sell some of Anheuser's non-core assets.

The theme parks aren't seen as a natural fit for Anheuser. But they're profitable and possibly attractive to private-equity players or other large entertainment companies, experts say.

"The parks perform quite well," said Christian Aaen, a principal at Economics Research Associates. He said a key trend in the theme-park business is the increasing role of private-equity groups, including Blackstone Group's (BX) 2005 acquisitions of European amusement park operator Merlin Entertainments and Legoland Parks.

Some analysts say that Anheuser's entertainment business, which operates about 10 theme parks, is hard to value. That business is a very small part of the company's overall profits and Anheuser has used it more as a way of promoting its image and brands.

InBev is known for keeping a tight rein on costs and running a lean business and so it could decide to sell the entertainment division, which isn't a part of the core beer operations.

Their theme parks serviced 22.3 million visitors in 2007, according to Economics Research Associates. And, the entertainment segment last year had gross sales of $1.3 billion, net income of $162.9 million. According to the company's annual report, the business contributed to 8% of net sales and 6% of net income in 2007.

Anheuser says it's the second-largest theme park operator in the U.S. and competes with Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Six Flags Inc. (SIX), Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. (FUN), and Universal Studios parks owned by General Electric Co. (GE)

In February, Dubai-based property developer Nakheel inked an agreement with Busch Entertainment to develop the Worlds of Discovery theme park on a project being constructed off the emirate's coast.

Although it's unclear exactly which of Anheuser's competitors might be interested in buying its theme parks if they're sold, some operators probably won't be on the short list.

"Six Flags is not a position to acquire anything right now. They are balance- sheet challenged and very, very highly levered," said David Miller, an analyst at SMH Capital.

Meanwhile, Cedar Fair is seen having its hands full after its acquisition of Paramount Parks in 2006 from CBS Corp. (CBS).

Some analysts say Anheuser's theme parks could even survive a merger given they generate healthy profits and good advertising for its products.

"If you go to any of their theme parks, there is always an Anheuser-Busch facility to go and drink their beers and learn about their brewery process," said B. Craig Hutson, an analyst at Gimme Credit. He said there is no evidence this drives incremental sales and lacks obvious synergies with its brewery operations.

"But, it helps create good will. I think they (would) be inclined to keep that business," he said.

- By Angela Pruitt, Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-2269,angela.pruitt@ dowjones.com

Well it's good to know that Six Flags and Cedar Fair are unlikely to buy them. If they are sold, I'm praying that it's Universal or Merlin that get them. This would be a smart move for Merlin, and it would be good for us Busch park enthusiasts!

Hmmm... Alton Gardens? No, I guess not... :down:

[TheFreshEffect]

Busch Gardens, please don't go..:(

[wabigbear]

InBev was the result of a merger between Brazilian brewer AmBev and Belgium Interbrew, many of the executives are Brazilian. AmBev also has a huge soft drink business in South America. They have brewing operations in 30 countries and sales in 130. This isn't a fly-by night company. InBev are masters of publicity here. Don't assume that they would sell the park division, it could easily be left 'as-is'.

The idea that Anheuser-Busch is a 'small family-type operation' isn't true, it's a huge company. It's not like the Busch cousin's are operating the rides and selling tickets or concessions. The exact same management people could easily remain in place, running the theme parks. I think it's premature to write the park's obituary or argue over what other company might buy them.

[Rupeeman]

Giant Company+Theme Park=MONEY:D

Now I see why Disney made Disneyland!:haha:

[marc0o0o0o]

No, god, no. Anheuser-Busch Co. makes an excelent work with all of their park right now. I would hate to see them ruined by other company. I wouldn't be happy with universal buying the park, because Universal's parks are great and have lot's of themed rides and all that, but they do not have big coasters, while Busch Gardens have the exsact combination of themed rides and big coasters.

About Merlin, I don't realy know. If they buy the park, let's pray that they make a good move.

I am happy to know that Six Flags or Cedar Fair aren't intrested to buy the park. While I like Six Flags parks, Busch parks are themed in a better way than Six Flags parks... Cedar fair would've filled up the park with trash cans, removed the themed stuff and probably kill it later, like they did with Geuga Lake.

I would feel safer if Parques Reunidos bought the Busch parks. They seem to know what they are doing with their recently bought parks.

[SnooSnoo]

I am happy to know that Six Flags or Cedar Fair aren't intrested to buy the park. While I like Six Flags parks, Busch parks are themed in a better way than Six Flags parks... Cedar fair would've filled up the park with trash cans, removed the themed stuff and probably kill it later, like they did with Geuga Lake.


Man.. I do hate people who have no idea what they are talking about.

1. Just because some article said it doesn't mean it couldn't happen. You assume too much.

2. BGA and BGE would and could fit in very well in either SF's or CF's portfolio. If either would get sold to the giant operators, it would be BGA.. as both chains have parks near BGE.

As far as the Sea World's go, CF doesn't do animals.. and SF hasn't exactly been top notch in that area.

What I would LOVE to see.. is a simple split from Anheuser-Busch Co. and start their own chain seperate of any owner. The parks have more then enough profit and could survive very well in the American market.. like they already have.

3. Geauga Lake died when SIX FLAGS bought the park.. Cedar Fair boarded a sinking ship when they bought it.

And I hope you do realize.. when CF took the theming out of GL, they kinda had to.. as the rights to using that theme/names belonged to Six Flags.. much like the name changes and changes in theme at the Paramount parks we see in the last year or so.

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

What I would LOVE to see.. is a simple split from Anheuser-Busch Co. and start their own chain seperate of any owner. The parks have more then enough profit and could survive very well in the American market.. like they already have.
You know what,I agree.I said that in a recent podcast that they should seperate and become some sort of "Busch Entertainment",like Hershey has Hershey Entertainment,and Hershey the chocolate company.
If not,if another company would come in,why would they change it? Is the stuff copyrighted? If not,why change what has been so successful?

[SnooSnoo]

The problem is that the Hershey divisions are still linked. I'm talking clean break.

Busch would have to remove anything copyrighted to the Anheuser-Busch Co. obviously. Past that, they could operate just fine as a seperate entity.

[coinich]

Unless some kind of agreement was made to keep the name and/or other former Busch attributes. I kind of like the Corona-Busch merger to fight of the Brazilian-Belgian merger idea. Its almost like two massive junkyard robots going at it... ;)

I do want Busch Gardens parks to stay with Anheiser-Busch though.

[disneyland123]

If it was Cedar Fair taking over, then I see disasters ahead: like Montu possibly changing into "Egyptian Inverter". Thankfully that's never going to happen.

I really just hope, like many people, that the Busch parks will keep their Busch names and stay under Anheiser Busch.

[SnooSnoo]

Yes disney.. because 'Montu' is copyrighted by a major namebrand.

You need to come back from that dumb land.. far.. far away.

[CedarPointer]

If it was Cedar Fair taking over, then I see disasters ahead: like Montu possibly changing into "Egyptian Inverter". Thankfully that's never going to happen.

I really just hope, like many people, that the Busch parks will keep their Busch names and stay under Anheiser Busch.
They only changed the Paramount names because they did not have the rights to them, because they were movies that they could not get the rights to. I'm sure if CF got them that most of the names would stay the same. Just imagine if DISNEY took over! "My name is Mickey Mouse! I'm tearing down all the good rides and putting in dark rides that are more boring than Logic class!"

[Westcot]

I think that SnooSnoo's idea is good. If InBev sells the parks (which they most likely will according to the agreement) if they buy them out in the first place, it would be smart for the Busch family to even get on in starting a spin-off company for the parks. They could probably keep the Busch name, but most likely lose the brewery sections unless they could be sponsored by InBev.

[TPM INC]

You people realy got to think about this more carefully, yes it would be shameful if the Busch "Couplet" went (escpecially since I never went to the Europe one) but they have a 50/50 of either going out to the market or staying. They will remain good either way they go. Don't forget that Sea World isn't that good and needs a major tune-up. Here is something that I made that compares Anheusar's Theme Parks from "market' or "stay".

Staying:

1. With Inbev controlling both Busch Gardens and Sea World they will have more money to build and expand these susscessful parks.
2. Some people might get sick of the themes that they had and InBev might change the theme (this leads to total park makeover, and will result in name changing colors of the coasters, and the destruction of Scorpion(Africa's Looping Coaster))(this is also a minus as well).
3. With the parks being mostly B&M coasters they will look to them once again in hopes to get another susscesfull coaster out.
4. As I said before them staying means MORE MONEY FOR THE PARK.
5. If they have to make the deal more appreciating and lose more money, then they would have to go to the weakest link (in this case Sea World) and look to sell those parks (sussceful parks indeed but are missing very much), which will lead to better busch Gardens and better Sea Worlds, I know you all are wondering whhy would Sea World get better if they went on market, well this is the reason:

All of these park companies that are out there are ALL AWESOME, and have no problems to them what so ever, and they could probabely do better then Anheusar did. The only problem I would have for this is if Sea World went to GE, I mean Aquatica I don't know much about but if that stunk then Sea World wont be that good either. Another reason why I would hate if this happened is beacuse Aquatica has just opened (correct me if I'm wrong) and adding another water park would make one of them suck.

Market:
1. Busch gardens has made so much progress but it seems like Anheusar isn't giving that much power (and I mean money) into the Sea World parks, and yes I now that Manta is coming, but isn't that there, um... 2 ride in like 3 YEARS in all 3 parks to. As I said befoer if they went on the market and gets adopted by another company chain. They would make Sea World huge. But the possibilities aren't that huge lets compare Disney, Ge, Six Flags, and Cedar Fair:

Disney- A definite top competitior at the least, just not a Sea World company in my mind. they go for all the steady stuff. So if Disney comes somethings got to go and all of you know what I mean. I mean Kraken and Manta, but that doesn't mean that they will stay gone, it just means that they will be replaced by either Vekoma, Huss, or Intamin rides. trust me a FEC (Family Entertainment Center) isn't the place for a water park I say a 6/10.

Six Flags- Another top prospect in my mind but it's not going to happen. Six Flags is and will always be a strict "DC Company" which not even Sea World can get turn into I mean come just piicture something like this on the news, "Six Flags, currently in hold of Sea World Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio, has just renamed Montu into Superman: Wet & Wild. They have also renamed Manta (in Orlando) into Batman: The Holy Dark Knight." Okay so i couldn't think of another good name for Batman but you get the point. They wouldn't spend a cet on these parks anyways, why, because they are only focused on expanding and building parks not adopting others (this is the reason why Six Flags did not take Paramount 2 years back). I giev them a 3/10.

GE- This park has the biggest advantage over the rest as they just released Aquatica, and are a movie making themepark. Never think the least though as Aquatica could mean a bad thing to GE as they would have 4 Water Parks to control instead of just 1 which could mean a lot ofwork for GE. I say 7/10.

Cedar Fair- This is the most appropriate but yet the most inappropriate choice for Sea World. Cedar keeps steady, clean parks with good maitnence but when it coms to those times where stuff has to come in then they will have a problem. The newest release I have heard of by Cedar Fair was Mamverick from Cedar Point, and please don't say that Itailian Sunt Job came in during Cedar's arrival because it didn't but it came right before. Paramount had these parks owned and lanlocked but lost control. Cedar Fair's only true theme park was Cedar Point (One of the best known today) but sadely I don't think they have whatr it takes to add 3 water parks (second hardest to maintain) to ther park collection of like 20 (Second in all time park holder(First is Six Flags)). I have to say 8/10.

You heard this from me everyone. See you all soon.

[CedarPointer]

Uh, CF has added lots of new coaster to their parks. Just off the top of my head: Renegade (Valleyfair!), Unknown (Worlds of Fun), Firehawk (Kings Island), Dominator (Kings Dominion), Maverick (Cedar Point), and I am probably forgetting some. Don't even get me started on flat rides.

[The_Mad_Hadder]

Me thinks that Hershey would be the best :up:

[TPM INC]

I said the NEWEST I HEARD, I know I was missing out on some. But it still isn't really a water chain. The only good water and aniaml chain I have seen or heard is Six Flags. But as I asid before they don't look to take over parks they build them.

yes that is another good one but only for the response of Sea World. I don't think they could handle aan aniaml themed place liek Busch Gardens Africa, but then you got Europe (which I have no idea about) so i guess they couldtake care of that. But here is what I think will happen.

Sea World Orland, San Antonio, San Diego- Willl be owned by Hershey for there water rides combined with average rides for park. Some changes may be made like: Some flat rides will either be moved, repleaced, or striped. Another coaster preferably a B&M Invert for Orlando (as that is the only one I've been to) near the Odessy (http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/parkmaps.html).

Busch Gardens Africa- Will be owned by Cedar Fair, this might not happen and might not be a good put-together but Cedar Fair can go all out with this one. As a big spark in Florida this may be a little hard to change before closing to opening but I am sure they will find a way to do it. The onyl true bad part about this matchup is that cedar might have to take out what makes BGA well.. BGA and that is... the animals. I don't think they will have the time and money yto control everything especially with no experience with animals at all (not including petting zoos). What they will put in instead of that is 1 or 2 true B&M or Intamin coasters (1 resempling Maverick as I am sure they probably have a plan to turn BGA into a new Cedar Point).

Busch gardens Europe- This I have to say might go to Cedar Fair as well. I mean this might be a better choice then BGA especially with the climate reduction between Virginia and Florida.

All in all anything could happen and whatever doees it will just make everything better.

[CedarPointer]

I said the NEWEST I HEARD, I know I was missing out on some. But it still isn't really a water chain. The only good water and aniaml chain I have seen or heard is Six Flags. But as I asid before they don't look to take over parks they build them.
Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I haven't really heard good things about Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, but no other chain really has animals.

[TPM INC]

Hey its okay, I haven't been onthe coaster track in a while so i cnt be that updated. But yeah Six Flags still has animals and they are still alive so they would make them okay, but you cant forget that six flags probqably wont take BGA in as they dont take parks in (although I am hearing rumorss that Canobie lake Pasrk is being taken over by Six Flags but I doubt it).

[Westcot]

New update from Screamscape...

(6/24/08) While there hasn’t been a lot of talking about the proposed buyout of Anheuser-Busch by InBEV, the local state Senator (Claire McCaskill) essentially told the head of InBEV not to let the door hit him in the a** on the way out. According to McCaskill, "They basically came to try to get me on board, so to speak," McCaskill told reporters after the half-hour meeting in her Capitol Hill office. "I said, 'Not going to happen.'"
"This is not a company that's not successful," McCaskill said. "This is not a company that's in stress. This is a company that's been profitable year in and year out and has provided good middle-class jobs in America. It feels like to too many people in our country right now that these are the kinds of jobs that are going away." She promises to do everything she can to stop InBEV from buying Anheuser-Busch.
Missouri’s senior senator Kit Bond is also in agreement and opposed to the sale, "This is a bad idea, it is broadly opposed by the community, and I look forward to expressing strong opposition”.

Another update from Screamscape...

(6/26/08) According to various news reports Anheuser-Busch is planning to reject the takeover bid from InBEV as being ‘too low’ and already planning various actions that could restructure the company and raise it’s own value. Such as restructure however could also involve the sale of non-core assets… such as the Busch Entertainment theme park division. Analysts however predict that InBEV could increase their offer to as high as $70 a share from the current $65 offer, or perhaps just bypass the board of directors and take their offer right to the shareholders to see if they can take over that way.

[TheFreshEffect]

InBev brought Busch for $50 billion, here's the story. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080714/bs_nm/anheuser_inbev_dc)

:(

[cpkidOH]

That's a shame. There goes another American owned company....

[RCTAeon]

soon there won't be a such a thing as buying american :(
I blame the Gas costs...:pout:

[-NGS-]

There's still Sam Adams. :up:

Anyways this really shouldn't matter for the parks; the company's new name is Anheuser-Busch InBev and most of the management for Anheuser-Busch is staying. :)

[stormrunner2592]

interesting, but as far as im concerned things wont be changed that much

and tpm..., what are you talking about with six flags and cedar fair

[CedarPointer]

I would laugh if Six Flags bought them.

[Alpengeist]

Anyways this really shouldn't matter for the parks; ...and most of the management for Anheuser-Busch is staying. :)
How do you know this? Once the deal is finalized, InBev can do what ever they want. ...Of course they should keep the management, but you never know.
As for the parks, there's a much greater chance InBev will try and sell them rather than hold on to them.

[-NGS-]

Looks like I spoke too soon there. The InBev CEO will be the "new" CEO and A-B gets only 2 seats on the board. The theme parks and Clydesdales are up for sale. Let's hope they find a good home.

[The Ghost]

^ So it's official then, they're selling the parks?

Time to lay on my bed in fetal position and cry myself to sleep. :down::mad:

[Alpengeist]

^All we can do is think positive. Heck, maybe Blackstone (Merlin Entertainments) will come in and buy up the Seaworld and Busch Gardens parks. You never know.

[Vans_boy]

Oh dear. This was all very unexpected. I really hope the parks get a good owner. I really don't think Cedar Fair of Six flags will be much good. Cedar Fair seems to be running a bad job of their paramount parks.
Hopefully Merlin does buy these parks. They're doing an okay job at the former Tussauds parks.

[Westcot]

^All we can do is think positive. Heck, maybe Blackstone (Merlin Entertainments) will come in and buy up the Seaworld and Busch Gardens parks. You never know.

That's the best bet, I think. They seem to want to expand to the US other than LEGOLAND, and I believe that they are a quality company. Many of the others have either just recently purchased parks, or are too bankrupt to purchase, so I hope that Merlin could be the front runner.

Oh dear. This was all very unexpected. I really hope the parks get a good owner. I really don't think Cedar Fair of Six flags will be much good. Cedar Fair seems to be running a bad job of their paramount parks.
Hopefully Merlin does buy these parks. They're doing an okay job at the former Tussauds parks.

I think that it's been mentioned before that Six Flags is involved with too many financial problems to purchase another park -- let alone five parks (with water parks). Cedar Fair just spent millions on the purchase of the Paramount parks, so they're most likely out.

Let's just hope for Merlin for the time being. :up:

[Vans_boy]

God forbid the parks end the way of old Geauga Lake.

[cpkidOH]

Oh dear. This was all very unexpected. I really hope the parks get a good owner. I really don't think Cedar Fair of Six flags will be much good. Cedar Fair seems to be running a bad job of their paramount parks.
Hopefully Merlin does buy these parks. They're doing an okay job at the former Tussauds parks.
You've heard wrong. They've turned around KI, which was poised for disaster under Paramount. Rivertown is rumored to be refurbished next year when the B&M Hyper is added. Park is cleaner then ever. They've also restored The Racer. They're also handeling KD well-From what I've heard Dominator has increased attendence there. And they added Behemoth at CW, which has also increased attendence. I could go on and on.

However, Cedar Fair is not the right company to buy the parks. They're not committed to animals at parks, or mantaining the levels of theming that these parks have. I agree that the best option is a foreign buyer, similar to the company that bought kennywood.

[TheFreshEffect]

It may be a stupid question but are the parks still open..?

[rydrmr9]

of course they are i was at BGA today. it wasn't that crowded either. the longest wait was for sheikra and that was only an hour. it was fun.

from a previous comment i read, i couldn't imagine BGA W/out the animals

[TheFreshEffect]

So who owns the parks then if they're still open?

[rydrmr9]

anhuiser-busch, all their logos are still up

[~LoveTulie]

I'm a little confused... okay, really confused. What's InBEV, and what's so bad about them?

[TheFreshEffect]

^ They feed small children to giant tarantulas in dark alleys.

[stormrunner2592]

man this sucks, and cedar fair wouldnt be bad but i'd rather see somebody else besides six flags takes control of these parks

but yeah the cedar fair takeover at kd, my home park, hasnt dont anything bad, attendance has been higher ever since the addition of dominator and the park is cleaner and better looking

[Garfield 06]

You all know what I think of CFafter I attended CW. MEH!

As for this, I'd imagine that these parks would be a great holding card for a small park firm. A fine investment.

And, have any of you considered that they might either stay with InBev or work independently?

G-06

[Westcot]

I'm a little confused... okay, really confused. What's InBEV, and what's so bad about them?

InBev is a beer brewing company that just took over Anheuser-Busch. InBev announced that it would sell A-B's parks if it were to merge with A-B, which it did.

man this sucks, and cedar fair wouldnt be bad but i'd rather see somebody else besides six flags takes control of these parks

but yeah the cedar fair takeover at kd, my home park, hasnt dont anything bad, attendance has been higher ever since the addition of dominator and the park is cleaner and better looking

Like I keep saying, it ain't gonna happen. Cedar Fair has their own issues now.

------------------

New news today from Screamscape...

(7/22/08) As the sad news about the Anheuser-Busch selling out to InBev has had time to settle in, the rumors and speculation about who may actually buy the Busch Entertainment theme parks has taken an interesting turn. Some have asked me what I thought about some of the other industry players buying the chain, such as Herschend Family Entertainment, Hersheypark, Village Roadshow or even a non-park attraction player like Ripley’s.
Hersheypark is too small in my opinion to take on the Busch chain, though they do have experience with creating a good family fun atmosphere as well as dealing with animals. Herschend would be an interesting fit as well I think, though once again I just think that right now they are too small to take on the kind of debt load that buying BEC would bring down upon them. They also don’t have any solid background experience with exotic animal parks to my knowledge, but if the Busch parks were ever to be broken up and sold individually I could see Herschend or Hersheypark stepping in to pick up a park or two.
Village Roadshow is an average possibility right now, as they own most of the major theme parks in Australia right now and have been going on a buying spree picking up several smaller attractions in the last few months. It’s also worth noting that they also own Sea World Australia… and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind making this copycat park a real true “SeaWorld” branded park after all these years. The big problem here is that I’m just not sure Village Roadshow can come up with cash to buy the entire BEC chain.
Ripley’s in the interesting X-Factor here as well, since they do have experience with sea life through their numerous Ripley’s Aquariums across the country and being able to bring in the SeaWorld brand name and expertise would certainly help. However Ripley’s mainstay is small attractions and not full sized theme parks, so this would be a very major departure from their comfort zone, and not something that I think they would pursue.
That said… I do have a very good rumor about who may really be set to take on the Busch parks. This rumor has leaked in from half a dozen sources with connections to Busch locations all around the country and actually would make the perfect fit. After all, who would be a better owner for the Busch Entertainment theme parks than the Busch family themselves.
Yes, you read that right. According to numerous sources the Busch family may have a silent agreement with InBev to buy the Busch parks. This makes sense since it’s well known that the Busch family has a very strong attachment to their theme parks, which have now separated themselves from the St. Louis HQ to have their own offices in Orlando. By coincidence, August Busch III also has a large second home not too far from Orlando as well. What isn’t known is if the Busch family will take on this plan alone or if they will try to seek out some investment partners. Either way, I’m hoping this rumor turns out to be true.

[rydrmr9]

if the busch family bought the parks it would be the best because i couldn't imagine anyother company owning the franchise of parks. the busch family also has done an incredible job w/ the parks.

[catgrrl]

THAT would be lovely. Especially with all of the conservation efforts that the family has done. They know how (or who) to run their parks and keep their atmosphere from changing.

[BoRJoYZeE]

They maybe doomed but I dought it!

[Alpengeist]

if the busch family bought the parks it would be the best because i couldn't imagine anyother company owning the franchise of parks. the busch family also has done an incredible job w/ the parks.

I think everyone can agree that's the best scenario. Let's just hope it happens.:up:

[Westcot]

Looks like Blackstone (a.k.a. Merlin) could be looking to purchase the A-B parks if the Busch family doesn't get a hold of them...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/08/03/cnthorpe103.xml

[Alpengeist]

^IMO, that would be the second best scenario.:up:

Maybe then we could see a 4 park season pass. ...USF, IOA, BGT, and SWO.:D