Executives at newly merged beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev said Thursday they are pressing forward with plans to sell at least $7billion in assets this year, with Orlando-based Busch Entertainment Corp. among them.
Already, representatives for Merlin Entertainments Group, a British amusement-park operator, have discussed a potential bid with A-B InBev. Multiple companies across the United States and Europe also are reportedly interested in a deal that analysts say could be worth between $2billion and $4.5billion.
"We have been approached by different players" interested in bidding on various A-B InBev businesses, company Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito said during a conference call with analysts Thursday. "We're progressing on several fronts."
Brito's comments came the same day that Belgium-based A-B InBev, the world's biggest brewer, revealed its 2008 profits fell 41percent.
'A very active property'
Brito would not name the divisions his company intends to sell, other than to say it has identified five to six assets that "tend to be noncore for us" and which would be spun off with minimal disruption to the company's other operations. But industry watchers say Busch Entertainment is on that list.
"I think it continues to be a very active property in terms of people looking at it and thinking about it," said Dennis Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services.
Busch also owns Aquatica and Discovery Cove in Orlando.