SAN ANTONIO (Associated Press) – Anheuser–Busch InBev has sold SeaWorld San Antonio — along with the nine other theme parks under Busch Entertainment Corp. — to private equity firm Blackstone Group for $2.3 billion in cash.
Busch Entertainment, the second-largest U.S. entertainment park operator, attracts about 25 million visitors a year and employs 25,000 people.
The entertainment unit generated about $1.4 billion in revenue in 2008.
Blackstone will add various clerical and other positions that were vacated by Anheuser–Busch InBev employees and maintain existing headquarters in Orlando, Fla. For now, the Busch name will also be kept.