2019，Most of the news that makes waves in the international theme park industry comes from Disney、The three global giants of 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments and Universal Studios。

April，Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox completed；End of May，Disney’s $1 billion Star Wars land opens at Disneyland in California；June，Lego Group family founding fund Colkerby announced the US$7.6 billion acquisition of 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments with Blackstone Group；August，Universal Studios announced the construction of its fourth theme park in the United States and the opening of Universal Beijing Resort in 2021；End of August，Disney’s billion-dollar Star Wars land opens at Walt Disney World；September，Merlin Entertainments announced that China’s first Legoland Park has landed in Meishan City, Tianfu New District, Sichuan；November，Merlin Entertainments and LEGO announced，Investment 5.The US$500 million Shanghai Legoland Resort lands in Jinshan District。

The global tourist attractions report released by TEA/AECOM in April this year shows，The world’s top ten theme park groups exceeded 500 million visitors for the first time in 2018，Except OCT、Huaqiang Fantawild and Chimelong Group are among the top three in China，Other international giants account for three-quarters of the tourists。

Except 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments in second place and Reunion Park in tenth place belong to the United Kingdom and Spain respectively，The other five companies are all in the United States。Disney、Universal Studios and SeaWorld are known as the three major theme parks in the United States，Six Flags Entertainment and Cedar Club Entertainment are the two major regional theme parks in the United States。

In terms of size and scale，Disney and Universal Studios are far ahead。Financial report display，The revenue of the two major companies in 2018 was US$20.3 billion and US$5.7 billion respectively，Except for 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments (US$2.2 billion), all others are below US$2 188bet app billion。Operating profit，Disney even topped the list with US$6.1 billion，It is more than the combined operating profits of the other six companies。

Nevertheless，Whether it’s Universal Studios，Other players，Not willing to be widened。Both the rumors of 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments the year before last and Six Flags Entertainment’s acquisition of SeaWorld last year，Still this year, the Lego Group and Blackstone Group acquired Merlin Entertainments for US$7.6 billion，And rumors that Six Flags Entertainment’s US$4 billion acquisition of Cedar Club Entertainment was rejected，All shown to varying degrees，The increasingly competitive theme park market has led major players to conduct mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their strength，Meet the challenge by hugging each other for warmth，Including the competition layout for key market areas, etc.。

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Last two years，Sea World, the world’s largest ocean theme park, has become the target of acquisitions by many giants。

At that time，Ocean World faces internal and external troubles，In a passive position。Unsatisfactory internal performance，Revenue and stock price have fallen for five consecutive years，High external debt，Credit rating downgraded。Many investors are eager to reverse the company's decline，There is even a proposal to sell the best assets。March 2017，SeaWorld Debt 16.USD 100 million，The company’s market value is only about US$2.5 billion。

August 2017，188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainment takes the lead in extending an olive branch to SeaWorld，Proposed to acquire the latter’s theme park sub-brand Busch Gardens Theme Park。

188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainment executives have confirmed their intention to acquire，Emphasizes that there is great room for cooperation between the two parties in expanding accommodation，And expressed willingness to discuss mergers and acquisitions with SeaWorld。However，The then CEO of SeaWorld responded，The Busch Gardens brand is SeaWorld’s most important asset，It is also a benchmark for future project development of Sea World，Not for sale。

188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments acquires SeaWorld，The main reason is to expand the North American market，Increase business volume，Relieving competitive pressure。

Currently，Merlin operates two Legoland parks in California and Florida。Also，Merlin has also deployed the Orlando Eye in Orlando、Sea World Aquarium、Short-distance 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino attractions such as Madame Tussauds。Company CEO name，The future goal is that North America accounts for one-third of revenue，This proportion was 27% last year。

Peppa Pig’s fun world of the future has five projects and three plans for investment in the United States3.$500 million Legoland New York to open in July 2020，644 new guest rooms were added at LEGOLAND resorts worldwide last year，Among them, 250 new ones are added in California，Accounting for more than one-third，These show how much 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainment attaches importance to the North American market。

At the same time，SeaWorld and 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments can also complement each other’s strengths，Expand the base of consumer groups。For example，Sesame Street Theme Park of SeaWorld and Legoland of Merlin Entertainments both attract parent-child consumers，SeaWorld’s Busch Gardens brand is similar to theme parks such as Merlin Entertainments’ Elton Towers in the UK，Attract adventurous consumers。

Except 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments，November last year，Six Flags Entertainment is also rumored to be planning to acquire SeaWorld。No matter from the strategic level，On an operational level，188bet sports betting app download The acquisition of SeaWorld has many positive implications for Six Flags。

After the merger of the two companies，If the synergy effect is good，The total number of tourists exceeds Universal Studios，Become the third largest theme park operator in the world。The most important thing is，Does Six Flags have any projects in Orlando, known as the “Holy City of Theme Parks”，Building a new theme park is time-consuming and costly，Most of SeaWorld’s best-performing theme parks are in Orlando。

Operation level，Six Flags Entertainment is the largest regional theme park in North America，Seasonality is its weakness，Some theme parks are closed during certain times of the year，Most theme parks in SeaWorld operate year-round，Brings stable income and cash flow to Six Flags Entertainment。Secondly，Six Flags Entertainment owns brands such as DC Comics，Complements the consumer groups of brands such as SeaWorld’s Sesame Street，Expand consumer base。Also，After the merger of the two，Become a big player with more than thirty theme parks，It is bound to attract more third-party brands，At the same time, it can also increase the pricing power of tickets or purchased equipment。

To some extent，188bet sports betting app download The acquisition of SeaWorld by Cedar Club Entertainment, which is also a regional theme park, has the same effect。Data display，Two of SeaWorld’s theme parks have more visitors than Cedar Club’s most popular theme park，Three theme parks have more visitors than Six Flags’ most popular theme park。

Universal’s theme parks are not far from SeaWorld San Diego and SeaWorld Orlando，Acquisition of SeaWorld also has its advantages。Whether in Disney’s base camp, Orlando，Still in Hollywood, California，Universal Studios are Disney’s strongest rivals。In recent years，Universal Studios has been adding new hotels、Theme Park、Water park and other methods，Increasing competitive pressure on Disney in Florida。

What’s more important is，SeaWorld’s most visited theme parks are also concentrated in the Orlando area of ​​Central Florida。If Disney is wary of Universal Studios’ previous rise，Universal Studios’ acquisition of SeaWorld will make Disney dare not underestimate the strength of the former。

Orlando is a key sector in the theme park market。Orlando Tourism Bureau Visit Orlando data display，2018，Orlando welcomes 75 million visitors，Year-on-year growth of 4.2%，Exceeding last year’s record of 72 million。

Universal Studios plans to open fourth theme park in Orlando，It also shows the intensity of competition in this market，And the necessity of more layouts。

However，Times have changed，Although there are still many problems in Ocean World，For example，Replacement of four CEOs in one and a half years，Most of the management resigned during this period, etc.，But its performance has improved greatly。The number of visitors to all theme parks last year increased by 8% year-on-year.6%，The growth rate is much higher than other giants intending to acquire it。Building more roller coasters in launch、Promote Free Beer Festival、After introducing initiatives such as Sesame Street theme park，It is expected that its performance will continue to improve，The price of the acquisition will only "rise"。

This also means，Changes in Orlando’s Theme Park Competitive Landscape，It won’t be that easy。

The driving force behind: private equity fund shareholders

Whether it is the future of Ocean World，Still 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainment、Reunion Park’s mergers and acquisitions，It’s all inseparable from the push of private equity 188bet online sports betting institutions behind it。

2015，Blackstone Group 1.GBP 02.5 billion acquisition of 188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainments，Become its parent company，After assisting Merlin Entertainments in a series of expansion plans，Blackstone Group in 2015 with 6.Sale of remaining equity for £5.3 billion。June this year，After the Lego Family Fund teamed up with Blackstone to acquire Merlin Entertainment，Blackstone holds 25% stake in Merlin Entertainments。March 2017，Blackstone Group with 4.Sold 21% of Sea World shares to Zhonghong Holdings for US$4.9 billion。Also，Blackstone Group also held a 50% stake in Universal Orlando Resort，But in 2011 with 10.Sold to NBCUniversal, a direct subsidiary of Universal Studios, for US$2.5 billion。

After being acquired by the Lego Family Founding Fund and Blackstone Group，188bet online sports betting Merlin Entertainment has a strong backer，There are also sources of funds，Does not rule out extending an olive branch to SeaWorld again。Also，An analysis by industry experts，From the needs of North American expansion and the support of major shareholders behind it，In addition, the existing adventure park consumer groups are similar to Merlin，Cedar Club Entertainment may be a better acquisition target。

SeaWorld’s Past、The present and future are also closely related to the private equity funds behind them。

SeaWorld’s current chairman is Scott Ross from private equity firm Hill Path Capital，Before this，Ross works at Apollo Global, another private equity fund，Responsible for the acquisition of family entertainment restaurant Chuck E.Cheese and forest theme water park Great Wolf Lodge。Shilpas may want Ross to play the role in SeaWorld’s last two acquisitions。

Previously Hillrose only held 5% of SeaWorld’s shares，But Hill Path Capital has acquired most of the shares in Zhonghong，Holding more than 34% of SeaWorld shares，Became the latter’s major shareholder。Also，It has been increasing its stake in Dave and Busters, another entertainment giant。What’s more interesting，Dave and Busters is the tenth largest theme park in the world、Also the major shareholder of Spanish Reunion Park Group, the world’s largest water park operator，The top three shareholders of SeaWorld are also members of the top five shareholders in Spain, so last year some industry insiders also proposed that Reunion Park might merge with SeaWorld。

Also，If two major 188bet app download regional theme park operators fail to materialize mergers and acquisitions，One possible consequence is，There will be competition between the two companies in acquiring other theme parks in the United States in the future。As stated，Not just theme park players，Private equity funds play an important role in this transaction。Especially driven by Hilpas Capital，The probability of a merger between SeaWorld and Reunion Park may greatly increase。

Future，Like Six Flags Entertainment、Medium-sized companies like Cedar Club Entertainment are expanding rapidly，Small marine parks such as Palace owned by Reunion Park continue to survive，Some private equity funds will also play an increasing role in the M&A process，Orlando Themed Entertainment Industry，M&A transactions on an even larger scale are not surprising。This change in pattern will have a profound impact on the ocean world、Fun Spot、The long-term development of companies such as Ripley has a great impact。