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Theme Parks Travel: The Shamu Watch Continues

When we last left you, Shamu was looking for a passport as she was considering a permanent European vacation. Well, it looks like things continue to move in that direction according to the UK Times.

Owners of Parques Reunidos, one of Europe's leading amusement park operators, is reported to be considering a bid of the Anheuser-Bush theme parks. Candover, a British equity firm that took ownership of Parques in 2007, is rumored to have hired Morgan Stanley to draw up the plans. Industry experts think that Shamu and friends are worth somewhere between $2.5 and $4.5 billion.

It's thought that InBev, the new owners of Budweiser, will go along with the deal as they need to raise some cash to pay off their debt from buying something like 1,000,000 30-packs of Bud Light.

To make things even more complicated, Merlin Entertainment, owners of Legoland, is also supposedly interested on getting in on the action. We'll let you know where your admission fee is going as soon as they figure it out.

Related Stories:
·European Theme Park Giant Parques Reunidos Angles for US Rival [UK Times]
·Theme Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: doug bonhaus]