Merlin Entertainments in Busch Bid?

In the wake of Belgian brewers InBev's $52bn takeover of Anheuser-Busch, Busch Entertainment, the group's theme park business, which owns SeaWorld Orlando, is expected to be one of the first business units put up for sale with a possible price of up to $4bn.

Potential bidders include Merlin Entertainments, the Blackstone-owned theme park group whose  UK assets include Sealife Centres, Madame Tussauds and Legoland. This is very concerning as Merlin Entertainments already owns 2 parks in Europe (Gardaland, Italy and Heidepark, Germany) which hold captive cetaceans.

Other possible bidders  are rumoured to include; Walt Disney, Universal Studios, Six Flags and also Candover, which owns Parques Reunidos, the Madrid-based entertainment group that operates more than 50 parks in a dozen countries.  In  2007 Parques Reunidos purchased  facilities in the UK, including Blackpool Zoo and have shown definite interest in establishing a captive cetacean exhibit there.