From what I understand, InBev is not interested in any of A-B's "non-core" industries. And from some article I read a month or so ago, Busch Entertainment only pulls in a tiny, tiny percentage of A-B's total profits.
I think it's highly likely that they will at least attempt to sell the parks, although it may be difficult in today's crappy economy. It won't be the first time the parks have been sold. Before A-B bought them, they were owned by Harcourt-Brace. They've survived plenty of trades, so I assume they'll do fine. Although I do wonder what will become of
Busch Gardens. Renaming would by the new buyer would be likely, I assume.
I wonder who would even consider buying the parks. I know Disney wouldn't, that's not their style. NBC is a possibility, I suppose. They already own the Universal parks, but may not be willing to pick up more. I shudder to think what would happen if Six Flags bought them out. We know how well they handled Sea World Ohio after acquiring it.
And, personally, I don't think Six Flags is responsible enough to handle the 'animal assets' of Sea World properly--I don't see them continuing to support the environmental projects and such. Six Flags is just too much of a cheap circus. Perhaps some other entertainment mogul will step in to pick them up and continue the legacy, though. (Oh please, not NewsCorp!)
In a perfect world, I'd rather see SeaWorld self-run or, at least, owned by a company with more conservation-oriented focus rather than the blatant commercialism which has swept the park and, to my mind, cheapened the experience somewhat. But, the fact is, that self-owned parks in Florida just don't prosper quite as well (look at Cypress Gardens, which was part of the original Harcourt to A-B package and later tried to make it on its own).
On the plus side, the sale of the parks out of A-B's hands might make things better for them in Dubai. It's been rather surprising to me that an brewery company was building in a country where alcohol is banned (at least among the locals). Which brings me around to my next speculation... perhaps an overseas buyer might pick up the parks. While Nakheel may be primarily focused on development in Dubai & the Persian Gulf, they DO have assets abroad as well (they're building hotels and such in Thailand and already have some in New York, for example). And with their already established relationship with Busch Entertainment, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see them consider picking up the whole kit.
But... these are just my wild speculations. I'll be interested to see what happens in the future. Whoever DOES acquire the Sea World package, however, I sincerely hope has the proper ethics and responsibility to care for quite the large menagerie of animals, as well as the commitment to continue funding conservation projects and assisting in rehab work like the parks currently do.
Hmm.
I'm gonna go to Sea World and wade around in the lazy river outside in this 105 degree heat to clear my head.
