Blackstone to buy InBev parks

Blackstone, based in New York, agreed to purchase the parks unit that includes SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, the companies said yesterday in a joint statement. AB InBev will get $2.3 billion in cash and as much as $400 million in extra payments depending on Blackstone’s return on the investment.

“There was a lot of doubt among investors 12 months ago as to whether they could sell these assets,’’ Andrew Holland, an analyst at Evolution Securities in London, said in an interview.

The purchase tops Silver Lake’s agreement last month to take a majority stake in eBay Inc.’s Skype unit for $2 billion and KKR & Co.’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Oriental Brewery Co. from AB InBev. A 63 percent rebound in global stock markets from their March low has allowed firms to sell more of their holdings and fueled a resurgence in deals after a two-year drought left the industry with $400 billion in unspent funds.

AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, inherited the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens amusement parks as part of its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch last year. The company has since cut jobs, culled marketing budgets, and sold assets to pay down debt.

Blackstone co-owns the Universal Orlando park with NBC Universal, a unit of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co. The New York-based privateequity firm also controls Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd., which operates attractions including the Madame Tussauds waxworks museum and the London Eye Ferris Wheel.

Blackstone will fund the acquisition with about $1 billion of equity, a $950 million term loan, $450 million in mezzanine loans, and a $100 million revolver, according to three people familiar with the details.

Buying the AB InBev unit gives Blackstone SeaWorld parks that are based in San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando, Fla., according to their websites. Busch Gardens has parks featuring roller coaster rides and other attractions in Tampa Bay, Fla., and Williamsburg, Va., according to their sites.

The sale of the parks will give AB InBev funds to continue repaying debt and later expand overseas in its main beer business. Chief executive Carlos Brito said in a September interview that there will be “much more’’ room for the company to expand internationally, including through acquisitions, once it has paid down more of its debt.

Rising unemployment and a slumping economy have hit US theme parks as consumers scale back travel plans. Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank, Calif., cut jobs at its attractions this year and stepped up discounts. The owner of the Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks is offering extra days on vacation packages and free visits on birthdays.

Six Flags Inc., the owner of 20 theme parks, including one in Agawam, sought bankruptcy protection in June, 3 1/2 years after Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder became chairman and hired new managers in an attempt to return it to profitability. That group inherited $2.4 billion of debt that can’t be sustained, chief executive Mark Shapiro said in a statement at the time. The New York company plans to reorganize under Chapter 11.

Blackstone, founded in 1985 by Stephen Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, manages the industry’s largest single buyout pool, a $21.7 billion fund it finished raising in 2007. Privateequity firms worldwide have about $400 billion in committed, unspent funds, according to Pitchbook Data Inc. of Seattle.

Blackstone said the financing includes senior secured credit facilities and mezzanine debt. Bank of America Corp., Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group, and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. are providing the senior debt.