SeaWorld Parks Files for IPO

December 27, 2012 by Paul Ausick

Porpoise

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., which is wholly owned by The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX), has filed for an initial public offering to raise $100 million. The number of shares on offer and the selling price of the shares has not been determined, nor has the IPO date.

Co-managers of the IPO are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

SeaWorld owns 11 theme parks in the United States and, according to the filing, attracted 24 million visitors in the 12 months ended in September. The stock will trade under the symbol SEAS, but the exchange was not named.

Blackstone will retain most of the voting rights to SeaWorld, while the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off debt, make a one-time payment to an affiliate of Blackstone, and for general corporate porpoises — er, purposes.

The full filing is available here.

Paul Ausick

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)

Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Take the retirement quiz right here.