SeaWorld Parks reportedly preparing for IPO

Might buy a few coasters. ;)

There aren't a lot of IPO's when you look at it on a yearly basis. Obviously there were only a few dozen in 2008, and it has recovered a bit, but it's still a big deal. I never really thought about this as the end game for Blackstone. I couldn't find what they bought the parks for.

$2.3 billion is what I read.

It's right in the article.

Blackstone acquired SeaWorld from beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR) in December 2009 for $2.3 billion, according to Blackstone’s website.

Oops. I was scanning for "billion" and completely missed it.

For the porpoises of this thread, IPO stands for Initial Penguin Offering (typically measured in pounds of fresh fish).

If I could +1 you I would. I am la-fin my head off.

Puns that funny sometimes make me blowhole milk out my my nose.

If you like those puns, Travis...find a song by comedian Kip Adotta(sp?) called Wet Dream. I guarantee there'll be more milk coming outta yer nose than you'll find on a dairy farm.

With a title like that, are you sure it's milk?

LOL!!!

Blackstone is a private equity company, and as such, their end game on any acquisition is almost always to take the company public, cash out, and move on.

/mike

Or sell it at a profit.

But what is step 2?

I bet they'd wait and sea what parks are driving the most revenue, build up those parks sub-stantially, then ship all the mediocre attractions to the lamer ones.