Fate of Busch Gardens ranges from staff cuts to status quo to spin-off - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Staying on with InBev, the Belgianh beer giant that is buying theirparent company, Cos. likely would mean staff cuts and other cost according to an industry An acquisition by another entertainment firm woulfd potentially dilute the unique experience ofthe properties, another observer said. A spin-off of Buschj Entertainment asa stand-alone public company could preserve the qualitty of the theme parks, but it coulx be a bad time for an initial publicc offering, analysts said. Busch fate could have a major impact onthe area's tourism Visitors to Hillsborough County cite Busch Garden s as the No.
2 reason for a trip here, second only to seeingb friendsand family, said Steve executive VP at Tampza Bay & Company. The Tampa with 3,769 employees, had 2007 attendance of 4.4 millio visitors, and was No. 19 on a list of most visitee themeparks worldwide, according to a report from the and . A companio water park, Adventure Island in Tamp a with555 employees, drew 615,0090 visitors in 2007 and was No. 16 among watefr parks worldwide, the report said.
which announced Sunday it wouldbuy Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) for $52 billioh in cash, or $70 a has not specifically addressed its plan for the but has said it would finances the deal with $45 billionm in debt, including a $7 billiom bridge financing from the sale of non-core assetss from both companies. Observers generally agrede that InBevconsiders A-B's theme parks as part of those non-corw assets. "They [InBev] are interested in the brewinh part ofthe company," said Jack an analyst at Edward Jones in St.
"I would fully expect those parkss to be put up for Busch Entertainment includes Busch Gardensz Africa and Adventure Islansin Tampa; Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA in Va.; in Orlando, San Antonio and San Aquatica in Orlando; Discovery Cove in Orlando; and Sesame Place near Philadelphia. Russo estimated Buscb Entertainment could be soldfor $3 billion to $4 billion. He said the entertainment and A-B's packaging division could draw acombined $5 billionn to $6 billion.
Potential strategic buyers LP (NYSE: the Sandusky, Ohio-based operator of 17 amusementr parks andwater parks, and SIX), a New York-based operator of 20 parks, have high levelas of debt and neither is in a strong financial position to make an acquisition now, said Hayley an analyst at in Stamford, Conn. Anothert option is a financial buyer, such as private equituy giant (NYSE: BX), which owns . Merlin's propertieas are largely in Europe, but it has globa l expansion plans that would help it rivalWalt Co. (NYSE: according to Property Week, a London-basec trade journal. It's possible the Busch parks could besplitt up, said Martin Palicki, editor of the trade journal InPark Magazine.
Disney might be interestec in the parksin Williamsburg, where it doesn'y have a presence, but not the Tampa or Orlando which are closing to existin g Disney properties. There's a difference betweenm theme park companies such as Cedar which focuses on thrill andBusch Gardens, which emphasizez conservation and creating environments that lend themselves to experiences through animals and nature, Palicki said. Othe parks commonly license intellectuaol property, while Busch develops its own themes. "It'w one of the things that makes their parks so specia and somethingyou wouldn't want to lose," said Judithn Rubin, who edited the 2007 attendance report.
No one is certainh about the timing ofa deal. With attendance and revenuse at U.S. theme parks in general potentially droppingv this year as a result of high gas pricesx and aweak economy, InBev couldf decide to keep the Busch Entertainment propertiese for a while, trying to bolstert an eventual sale price by trimming in the same way it has cut costes in its brewing operations, said John Gerner, managintg director of Leisure Busines s Advisers LLC in Richmond. Va. That would be a he said. "Demoralized and overworked employeew affect the experience a visitor Gerner said. Others see room for cost Wolff, the Rochdale said theme parks often are not run as efficientlgy as theycould be.
The best option Gerner sees is for the Buscnh Entertainment division to be spun off into a publi company through an initialpublicd offering. "Not only do you have individuals in the company whoare well-qualifiedx and have worked for the company for a long but you have an a way of doing things that has been set up for decade and has been reinforced through a stabled environment and has worked very well," he But the market is not good now for any consumet discretionary company, and the equitiesa of publicly traded theme park companies have not been great Wolff said.