Universal Orland to be sold

[yaytezIOA]

Blackstone has announced they will sell their share of Universal Orlando.
It's been offered to NBCUniversal who has until June 12th to buy or the entire park could be sold. This could put Harry Potter in danger.

 

[mesaboy2]

Blackstone has announced they will sell their share of Universal Orlando.
It's been offered to NBCUniversal who has until June 12th to buy or the entire park could be sold. This could put Harry Potter in danger.

I have trouble believing that the ATM machine that is WWoHP is in any danger. Someone will want to own that....

 

[sweetdana]

I konw another party right in the orlando area that would buy it .. But ticket prices would rise..

 

[Metro West]

We are having a spirited conversation over here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=40341759#post40341759

Feel free to jump in.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm confused as to where Comcast fits into this.

Personally, I don't much care who owns Universal as long as it's not the Mouse. I like the competitive environment better.

 

[DCTooTall]

I'm confused as to where Comcast fits into this.

Personally, I don't much care who owns Universal as long as it's not the Mouse. I like the competitive environment better.

Comcast Recently completed their purchase of controlling interest in NBCUniversal....

NBCUniversal is the company that owns the other 50% of the Universal Orlando Resort.... as well the Universal movie studio, Universal Hollywood, etc.



Based off the article, The reason this puts Harry Potter into jeopardy is because the licensing contracts for HP require that NBCU retain ownership of the parks. if NBCU does not accept Blackstone's offer, then Blackstone can force NBCU to sell their 1/2 of the park as well to a 3rd party.

Warner, who owns the rights for HP, then would require the new owner meet certain criteria to even consider allowing them to use the HP licensed properties..... and appearently, even then, would still require that NBCU retain control over the park's operations.

 

[Seeker615]

any updates on this?

 

[Metro West]

any updates on this?

I doubt there will be much updating until we get closer to June 12th...which is the day of decision. Until then...pure speculation.

 

[Tink2Day]

I doubt there will be much updating until we get closer to June 12th...which is the day of decision. Until then...pure speculation.

Yes but until then those who cannot see beyond their Disney blinders will try their hardest to run around yelling 'the sky is falling', mostly because the competition and the fact that a growing number of people are realizing what is offered at Universal, IOA and WWOHP in particular is a comparable if not better product is becoming a reality. No matter HOW much the fans try to 'spin it'.

Disney is well aware of it. I seriously doubt a high ranking representative would come to a business seminar with some heavy hitters and disclose some of the things they did if they weren't the least bit worried.

 

[mesaboy2]

Well, they apparently already sold the second "o" in "Orlando".

My humor can be a little odd sometimes.

 

[Metro West]

I'm trying to stay neutral in this situation and trying to keep my mind at ease but I have to admit...this really has me concerned. As a fan of Universal Orlando, it's an easy decision to make. Just buy the other 50% and be done with it. Then...down the road look for someone to purchase a portion of the parks like it's been done in the past. But we all know these big time business decisions are all about money...not the fans.

There is too much to lose in selling the parks to an outside party and I'm sure NBCUniversal knows this and will consider this offer very carefully. I can't imagine turning Blackstone's offer down but we also know that Universal management has been suspect in the past.

A year ago, I was thinking Blackstone would purchase the remaining stake and combine Universal and the Busch parks into a strong force to compete against Disney in this area. I was thinking of joint APs for Universal and SeaWorld and possibly a Busch Gardens add on. Now...I'm thinking if this deal is turned down and the resort goes up for sale, we could see the end of everything we love about Universal.

I can't imagine another company coming in and saying no more Mardi Gras or Halloween Horror Nights...I just can't contemplate that but it could happen if the parks are sold.

Not to mention losing some of the properties that are so popular...if the parks are sold. I definitely think Disney would come in and want those characters they can't currently use for themselves. Goodbye Marvel Super Hero Island and possibly something bad happening with WWoHP. Who knows where the expansion talks are now...dead I would imagine...at least until this deal is finalized. Also...if another company comes in and buys the parks, people could be out of their jobs. You just never know what could happen.

So...I'm very concerned about this whole mess and I hope NBCUniversal will put all our minds at ease and take over 100% of the parks again. I see too many bad possibilites for the fans of Universal if this deal isn't done.

I hope...I really hope I'm wrong and this will only be a speed bump in the road.

 

[Rip]

I'm trying to stay neutral in this situation and trying to keep my mind at ease but I have to admit...this really has me concerned. As a fan of Universal Orlando, it's an easy decision to make. Just buy the other 50% and be done with it. Then...down the road look for someone to purchase a portion of the parks like it's been done in the past. But we all know these big time business decisions are all about money...not the fans.

There is too much to lose in selling the parks to an outside party and I'm sure NBCUniversal knows this and will consider this offer very carefully. I can't imagine turning Blackstone's offer down but we also know that Universal management has been suspect in the past.

A year ago, I was thinking Blackstone would purchase the remaining stake and combine Universal and the Busch parks into a strong force to compete against Disney in this area. I was thinking of joint APs for Universal and SeaWorld and possibly a Busch Gardens add on. Now...I'm thinking if this deal is turned down and the resort goes up for sale, we could see the end of everything we love about Universal.

I can't imagine another company coming in and saying no more Mardi Gras or Halloween Horror Nights...I just can't contemplate that but it could happen if the parks are sold.

Not to mention losing some of the properties that are so popular...if the parks are sold. I definitely think Disney would come in and want those characters they can't currently use for themselves. Goodbye Marvel Super Hero Island and possibly something bad happening with WWoHP. Who knows where the expansion talks are now...dead I would imagine...at least until this deal is finalized. Also...if another company comes in and buys the parks, people could be out of their jobs. You just never know what could happen.

So...I'm very concerned about this whole mess and I hope NBCUniversal will put all our minds at ease and take over 100% of the parks again. I see too many bad possibilites for the fans of Universal if this deal isn't done.

I hope...I really hope I'm wrong and this will only be a speed bump in the road.

Would Merlin be considered a 3rd party? Honestly, the details we have now are incredibly sketchy. No way did someone just spend 3+ years and a quarter of a billion dollars - only to see it pay off in spades - risk losing it before their inpuit was reclaimed.

I'm not saying that Blackstone is necessarily trying to force a buyout through Merlin. But I am saying that UO has maintained a profit through this recession even before WWHP opened. I don't believe this is something to worry about.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Well, they apparently already sold the second "o" in "Orlando".

My humor can be a little odd sometimes.

I'm trying to stay neutral in this situation and trying to keep my mind at ease but I have to admit...this really has me concerned. As a fan of Universal Orlando, it's an easy decision to make. Just buy the other 50% and be done with it. Then...down the road look for someone to purchase a portion of the parks like it's been done in the past. But we all know these big time business decisions are all about money...not the fans.

There is too much to lose in selling the parks to an outside party and I'm sure NBCUniversal knows this and will consider this offer very carefully. I can't imagine turning Blackstone's offer down but we also know that Universal management has been suspect in the past.

A year ago, I was thinking Blackstone would purchase the remaining stake and combine Universal and the Busch parks into a strong force to compete against Disney in this area. I was thinking of joint APs for Universal and SeaWorld and possibly a Busch Gardens add on. Now...I'm thinking if this deal is turned down and the resort goes up for sale, we could see the end of everything we love about Universal.

I can't imagine another company coming in and saying no more Mardi Gras or Halloween Horror Nights...I just can't contemplate that but it could happen if the parks are sold.

Not to mention losing some of the properties that are so popular...if the parks are sold. I definitely think Disney would come in and want those characters they can't currently use for themselves. Goodbye Marvel Super Hero Island and possibly something bad happening with WWoHP. Who knows where the expansion talks are now...dead I would imagine...at least until this deal is finalized. Also...if another company comes in and buys the parks, people could be out of their jobs. You just never know what could happen.

So...I'm very concerned about this whole mess and I hope NBCUniversal will put all our minds at ease and take over 100% of the parks again. I see too many bad possibilites for the fans of Universal if this deal isn't done.

I hope...I really hope I'm wrong and this will only be a speed bump in the road.

No $ minded company would come in and kill Mardi Gras and/or HHN, as those make the $$$ to keep everything running. Kill one or both of those and the attendance (read: money) will suffer extremely.

Here's to hoping the last bolded statement becomes truth.

 

[phamton]

If another company bought the parks, they would want to make a profit. Dropping HHN, Mardi Gras, and Harry Potter would not be a good business move, if they want to make money. Anyone who bought the parks would not want to mess anything up with the biggest money maker they have ever had which is the Harry Potter deal. Honestly, I'm not worried at all. The company has gone through many owners over the years and little has changed except a few extra logos and products added.

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks, I was starting to wonder if anybody got that. I missed it the first few times I opened the thread.

 

[Metro West]

Thanks for the comments. Those were my concerns and I wanted to vent them...like it or not. As I stated...I hope I'm wrong about everything.

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks for the comments. Those were my concerns and I wanted to vent them...like it or not. As I stated...I hope I'm wrong about everything.

not everythingbut this i do hope u're off the mark.

blackstone did just invest alot of money in the Coronado hotel in San Diego, not sure how deep their pockets are know they're international based believe w/some arab money floating about

imo disney is going to take a big hit with tokyo park, maybe that'll keep them @ bay.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I think some of the fears are a little irrational.
If Disney did buy what makes you think they would re-vamp everything. Sure prices would go up but i can easily see Disney making US their "Big Boy" park. I don't see them "princessing" everything up. I could see Spielberg coming back in. Especially now that he has a new movie coming out.

Two locations of the same things isn't profitable.

 

[Metro West]

I think some of the fears are a little irrational.
If Disney did buy what makes you think they would re-vamp everything. Sure prices would go up but i can easily see Disney making US their "Big Boy" park. I don't see them "princessing" everything up. I could see Spielberg coming back in. Especially now that he has a new movie coming out.

Two locations of the same things isn't profitable.

I didn't say Disney would change everything...they would take Marvel out if some other company bought the parks since the agreement between Marvel and Universal would probably be voided...that's all.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Does anyone know if Universal Orlando Resort/Parks are in the black? As long as its making money its not going to go away no matter who owns it or buys it. But the problem would be if it started to run in the red. I can't imagine it not making money over the past 2 years or so though.