SeaWorld Park & Entertainment IPO
- Thread starter pandorazboxx
- Start date
The Nasdaq has launched the stock quote page for SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc (SEAS). http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/seas
here's an interesting analysis on the IPO: http://www.scpr.org/blogs/economy/2013/01/04/11842/shamu-goes-public-could-seaworlds-ipo-retire-whale/
pandorazboxx said:
I would say that most of that paragraph on debt is typical boilerplate risk disclosures tha you see in corporate financial statements. Also, I don't think $100 million is the final determined amount - they could end up raising closer to $500 MM depending on how things play out. Most companies don't aim to completely pay off debt like an individual person would - it's a legitimate source of capital in a business and can be cheaper than equity capital. I agree with you however, that it looks like they are looking to de-leverage a bit and pay down some of their debt.
As for the piece on 2014-15 investments, I read that to imply that most or all of the spending related to the anniversary would be on just the Seaworld branded parks. Did anyone else get that?
Looks like Apollo (owners of the Great Wolf Lodge properties) and Six Flags are both interested in the SeaWorld Parks.
[tweet=https://twitter.com/ThemePark/status/292029005807378434]
[tweet=https://twitter.com/ThemePark/status/292029005807378434]
Does Six Flags even have the money to purchase any of these parks, let alone the entire chain? Last I checked they were just getting out of bankruptcy.
If this happens, the whole chain would loose all of its class. All the parks would become just another park. Maybe Anheiser will buy them back and save them. Oh wishful thinking...
So I had a short conversation with a friend with deeper connections with me in the industry (and a business background) about this whole sale. It wasn't a long one but here's the gist before the forums explode.
The chain itself hasn't gone completely public yet, so no shares have been sold. Blackstone as a company will eventually put shares in the company up for sale, but until then, it's all speculation about who grabs any of it. At this point, Blackstone won't part with the Busch parks, but if somebody comes by and gives them an offer they can't refuse, they won't back down. At this point, the shares will go public and then Blackstone will sell to investor groups (Apollo, Blackstone, etc).
That being said, competitors can "become interested in buying", look into the company, gain insider knowledge about its inner workings, and then walk away from the deal (which is probably what SF is doing). The IPO and the press releases following contained quite a bit of info about the chain as a whole so this doesn't really surprise me.
SF as a whole doesn't seem to have much money anyway so this would've been a terrible deal for both chains if SF actually bought up the chain. I can see the Busch family stepping back into the theme park industry though. They're likely to snatch up a few shares.
- Thankfully the reactions here aren't as bad as TPR/Facebook. Usually it's the other way around.
You mean like replacing photo ops with ugly glow stands, the likes of Entwinedbarn, and the rather plain looking sundial?
The chain itself hasn't gone completely public yet, so no shares have been sold. Blackstone as a company will eventually put shares in the company up for sale, but until then, it's all speculation about who grabs any of it. At this point, Blackstone won't part with the Busch parks, but if somebody comes by and gives them an offer they can't refuse, they won't back down. At this point, the shares will go public and then Blackstone will sell to investor groups (Apollo, Blackstone, etc).
That being said, competitors can "become interested in buying", look into the company, gain insider knowledge about its inner workings, and then walk away from the deal (which is probably what SF is doing). The IPO and the press releases following contained quite a bit of info about the chain as a whole so this doesn't really surprise me.
SF as a whole doesn't seem to have much money anyway so this would've been a terrible deal for both chains if SF actually bought up the chain. I can see the Busch family stepping back into the theme park industry though. They're likely to snatch up a few shares.
- Thankfully the reactions here aren't as bad as TPR/Facebook. Usually it's the other way around.
You mean like replacing photo ops with ugly glow stands, the likes of Entwinedbarn, and the rather plain looking sundial?
Maybe I can win a mega-millions lottery while discovering that Bill Gates is my long lost uncle who suddenly decides that he loves coasters way more than computers. In the meantime, I'm going to wait and see what happens before wringing my hands over what-ifs.
***This post turned out super boring, so thank you for reading it if you do. If you don't read it, I'll still love you.***
They actually let the cat out of the bag that they were considering becoming public in 2009 and I'm kicking myself for not catching it. Going from an LLC to an Inc. opens up a lot more options as a company. LLC's can't trade stock, but an Inc can. I've read on other sources that the option of splitting up Sea World/BG/Sesame Place in different sales is a possiblity, but (and if anyone knows differently, please correct me) now that the company is a Inc, I don't believe this is an option. It's all or nothing now.
As an LLC, it was howevern an option and that's interesting. I work for an LLC that is part of an Inc. and we are actually co-owned by two Inc.'s. There are seven of us in the area, and we have a business name and a legal name. The business names are all branded to be one company, but our legal names are all different and include LLC at the end. From the legal side, this means that you can sue one of us, but the others nor the Inc. will be affected. This also means that one of us can be for sale/bought, while the others can still be part of the previous Inc.
Ths switch to Inc could be proof that they are looking to unload all the parks in one massive sale, not deal with selling off each park or brand separately. On the other hand, if anyone has any knowledge of any of the parks having their own separate and unique legal name, please speak up. This could prove that they could in fact separate the parks in numberous sales to different buyers.
They actually let the cat out of the bag that they were considering becoming public in 2009 and I'm kicking myself for not catching it. Going from an LLC to an Inc. opens up a lot more options as a company. LLC's can't trade stock, but an Inc can. I've read on other sources that the option of splitting up Sea World/BG/Sesame Place in different sales is a possiblity, but (and if anyone knows differently, please correct me) now that the company is a Inc, I don't believe this is an option. It's all or nothing now.
As an LLC, it was howevern an option and that's interesting. I work for an LLC that is part of an Inc. and we are actually co-owned by two Inc.'s. There are seven of us in the area, and we have a business name and a legal name. The business names are all branded to be one company, but our legal names are all different and include LLC at the end. From the legal side, this means that you can sue one of us, but the others nor the Inc. will be affected. This also means that one of us can be for sale/bought, while the others can still be part of the previous Inc.
Ths switch to Inc could be proof that they are looking to unload all the parks in one massive sale, not deal with selling off each park or brand separately. On the other hand, if anyone has any knowledge of any of the parks having their own separate and unique legal name, please speak up. This could prove that they could in fact separate the parks in numberous sales to different buyers.
Disney has expressed Intresting in buying SWSD. They would move there cruise line down to San Diego and use the park as a way to draw more people in by offering packages and such. They would turn it into a Disney sea park. But from what SWPO has said they won't sell them separate. Just an idea though I thought I'd throw out there. Anyone ever think this would happen?
It came off WDW Magic in the forums tonight. So while it is just fans the person who posted it was rather knowledgable about the subject. I just got on that site too so I don't know how reputable it is but it defiantly caught my attention.