Recently，According to Bloomberg，SeaWorld, the world’s theme park operator, plans to acquire 188bet in an all-cash deal for US.4 billion。

Refer to TEA/AECOM global theme park attendance report，Before the epidemic，Sea World’s 22.62 million visitors in 2019，Ranked 9th among the top 10 theme park groups in the world；188bet Entertainment’s visitor numbers in 2019 were 27.94 million，Ranked eighth。

Ninth Plan“Eat”No. 8 188bet world，Why？Why？

And earlier，Ocean World is still a“Soft persimmon”，It was rumored to be acquired by Merlin Entertainments and Six Flags 188bet，Have you turned over now？

And one detail is，Six Flags Entertainment’s visitor numbers in 2019 were 32.81 million。Ranked seventh。In 2019, it offered US billion to acquire 188bet，But no deal was reached in the end。

It is said that Six Flags Entertainment may not be able to sit still this time，will continue to seek to acquire 188bet at an offer price of US-80 per share。

here，This major transaction that affects the global 188bet market，The dust has not settled yet。

The world’s ninth 3.4 billion U.S. dollars is needed“Eat”No. 8 188bet world？

As understood，SeaWorld’s offer to 188bet is per share，The latter is valued at approximately US.4 billion。Estimated，As the epidemic prevention and control situation improves，It is expected that the number of tourists in the theme park industry will continue to grow next year，It will even exceed the level before the epidemic，This lower offer may not be approved by 188bet shareholders。

But the latest reality is a little different.

According to sources，188bet is considering the above offer，But not sure whether a deal can be reached in the end。However，Six Flags Entertainment plans to sell US per share in 2019、The acquisition of Cedar with a total price of US billion will be different，The Cedar Society was not active at that time，Recently, Cedar Club issued an announcement confirming receipt of SeaWorld’s acquisition offer，And considering the "initiative" of Sea World、NOT LEGALLY BINDING" QUOTE。Even，The two consulting firms hired by Cedar Club have been announced: Perella Weinberg Partners LP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP。This is very different from the fact that 188bet did not issue any announcement in 2019。

188bet responded on its official website to the acquisition offer received from SeaWorld

The offer from Six Flags Entertainment was not accepted at that time，Now we are actively considering lower offers，What do 188bet think？

One of the main reasons is，188bet would be worried about being acquired by Six Flags Entertainment，Will lose the tax incentives brought by the existing limited partnership。At that time, most of the company's current profits were distributed to shareholders in the form of capital recovery，Investors do not have to pay taxes。

And now 188bet is not having an easy time.

188bet Entertainment Financial Report Display，2.6 million tourists in 2020、Revenue 1.USD 8.1 billion、Net loss 5.USD 900 million，27.8 million in 2019、Revenue 14.USD 7.4 billion、Net profit 1.US.2 billion。Data plummeted across the board。

Compared to 188bet’s 2020 revenue plummeted 88%，Six Flags and SeaWorld’s revenue fell 76% and 69% respectively this year，The ability to deal with the epidemic is relatively better。

188bet has seen considerable improvement in the first three quarters of 2021，The number of visitors is 1417.80,000 people、Revenue 9.USD 8.7 billion、Net loss .3 million。

However，There is another question，188bet has not paid dividends for nearly two years，Maybe it will be profitable again this year，But it’s hard to say whether dividends will be distributed。At the financial report conference in November last year，188bet executive’s name，The company’s recent focus is to alleviate debt，So said，Cash dividends are naturally an uncertain thing in the future。

Affected by the epidemic，The current situation of 188bet is very different from before，Not as confident as before to reject external acquisition offers，The possibility of accepting SeaWorld’s acquisition offer is greatly increased this time。

At the same time，SeaWorld’s acquisition price of US per share does not seem high，Only a 21% premium compared to 188bet’s closing price the day before the quote。But judging from the stock price trend of Cedar Club in recent years，It is not easy to obtain such a high premium。

When the stock price is far lower than the 188bet price for a long time，Investors may consider cashing out and exiting。

Also，There is another important reason，188bet’s current short-term debt exceeds US billion，In an environment where interest rates are rising，Repaying debt quickly is an urgent matter，Also gives investors an opportunity to exit。

But whether this deal will ultimately succeed，There are variables，i.e. Six Flags 188bet。Some analysts believe，Although there have been many changes in the senior management back then，But Six Flags 188bet may still make a new acquisition offer，The offer is likely to be between -80 per share，Equal to greater than SeaWorld's offer。

Can’t stop”Giant + Giant“M&A

Sea World was previously“Soft persimmon”Pinched here and there，There are several rumors of being acquired，For example, 2017，Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest theme park operator, was rumored to be considering acquiring SeaWorld，But denied by the former；November 2018，Market rumors that Six Flags 188bet plans to acquire SeaWorld，But nothing happened in the end。Buyers only buy good theme parks rather than buying them as a whole package, etc.，is the main reason。

There are also factual cases of 188bet giants being acquired in recent years.

June 2019，Blackstone Group joins hands with LEGO founding family for US.5 188bet，Acquisition and privatization of Merlin Entertainments，In January 2020, toy giant Hasbro officially completed the US.8 188bet acquisition of eOne, the owner of Peppa Pig IP。

While the theme park players are hugging their thighs，The theme park operator giants 188bet global theme park market have also begun to seek changes。

In recent years，In response to Apple、Challenges from technology giants such as Amazon，Mergers and acquisitions of global media and 188bet giants have become an industry trend。After completing antitrust supervision，Disney acquired most of the assets of 21st Century Fox for US.3 billion in 2019、Telecom giant AT&T’s billion acquisition of Time Warner (the parent company of Hollywood film and television company Warner Bros.) was finally obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice。

May last year，Amazon with 84.USD 500 million to acquire and produce the "007" series of movies、MGM of the "Tom and Jerry" TV series。Also in May，AT&T announces divestment of Warner Media，And establish a new streaming media company with Discovery Communication Group，Transaction volume reached US billion，The themed 188bet giant with a large amount of IP has shifted its business focus to building a streaming media service platform。

This time，Why does Ocean 188bet focus on guests?？By the once-rumored acquiree，Become an active acquirer。

The feedback given by the capital market is a reference，Based on the past year， As of February 14 188bet year，SeaWorld stock price 66 per share.USD 38，Compared to 38 per share on February 19 last year.USD 96，Increased by more than 70%。

The logic of 188bet rising stock price is not difficult to understand.

First, performance exceeded expectations。Financial report display for the first three quarters of 2021，The number of visitors to Ocean World increased by more than 10 million compared with the same period last year，Revenue 11.US.3 billion，Net profit 1..5 billion hits record high，An increase of .3 million compared to the same period in 2019。2021 financial report expected to be released at the end of this month，Company will exceed 13 in 2019..9 billion revenue level，Neither Six Flags Entertainment nor 188bet achieved such performance。In fact，Since 2019，News of Six Flags Entertainment’s acquisition of Cedar Club so far，SeaWorld’s stock price more than doubled，The stock prices of the other two major regional players have not increased so much，This is one of the reasons why 188bet’s quotation dropped from US billion to US.4 billion。

Second, there are many attractions to be opened，SeaWorld to open four roller coasters at four U.S. theme parks 188bet next five weeks，This alone can make Ocean World the focus of the industry，After the coming summer, the company will catch up with the peak tourist season，SeaWorld also plans to open before the end of summer，Opening of new Sesame Street Park in San Diego，These news may make investors’ eyes brighter，Let the stock price continue to remain high。

In this case，Issuing a takeover offer can increase market and public attention，It is also easier to gain support from shareholders。Moreover，Come out when the performance is the best“Making trouble”More convincing，Whether you are looking for financing，The merger is still completed，It is easier to take the initiative in negotiations。With the 2022 SeaWorld series“Highlight Moment”arrival，If the acquisition of SeaWorld is successful，Business 188bet develop better and faster，Even if the acquisition fails，There is no loss。

In addition, SeaWorld and 188bet have complementary businesses.

Currently，Sea World, as the world’s largest ocean theme park, has 12 ocean parks in the United States、Water Parks and Theme Parks，Its well-known brands include Sea World、Busch Gardens、Sesame Street, etc.。188bet operates Knott's Berry Farm in Ghana in the United States and Canada、Cedar Point, Ohio、Cananda's Wonderland, Canada's largest amusement park and 13 other amusement parks。

For example，Most of SeaWorld's parks are located in three densely populated states in the United States，The biggest advantage of these places is that the park can operate year-round，188bet has no parks in two of the states，You can definitely push your tens of millions of annual visitors to Sea World，Not only provide them with richer products and services，It can also bring more tourists and revenue to Sea World。

The combined assets of SeaWorld and 188bet exceed 20 theme parks，If the merger is successful，SeaWorld’s revenue may reach .4 billion in 2023，The competitive advantage with the largest competitor Six Flags Entertainment will also be obvious。

There are deeper considerations，SeaWorld’s planned acquisition of Cedar Club is not just about expanding the business coverage of both parties，SeaWorld also needs 188bet。First，SeaWorld is no longer as affected by the documentary "Black Whale 2" and related events as before。This will also allow the public to change their perception of the park for animal shows or educational programs，Expanded paradise product supply，Reduce reliance on animal-related attractions。

Secondly，Sea World is currently operating well、Advantages such as rising stock price，But the shortcomings are also obvious，Business is relatively concentrated，Insufficient season ticket penetration，Acquisition of 188bet, a regional theme park operator second only to Six Flags Entertainment, could expand its presence and influence in North America，And expand a wider consumer market for its multiple larger theme parks。

Again，SeaWorld will also have a large amount of undeveloped land in the Cedar Club。Currently，There are 5.6 million square meters of undeveloped land in the surrounding parks of 188bet，Sea World can be used to develop hotels after acquisition、Sports Complex、Water parks and other entertainment facilities or attractions。

(Part 188bet information is synthesized from Bloomberg、Blooloop、Motley fool, etc.)