Blackstone offering to sell Universal Orlando stake!

[KingEric]

A MUST READ ARTICLE!
Blackstone Universal Orlando offer: Blackstone offers to sell its 50% stake in Universal Orlando to NBCUniversal - OrlandoSentinel.com

Private-equity giant The Blackstone Group is looking to unload its stake in Universal Orlando, triggering a chain of events that could ultimately put the entire resort — which is in the midst of its most impressive financial run ever — on the auction block.
Blackstone has offered to sell its half of the resort to fellow co-owner NBCUniversal, the media-and-entertainment conglomerate that was acquired in January by Comcast Corp.
NBCUniversal now has three months — until June 12 — to accept the offer and buy out the private-equity firm. If NBCUniversal turns Blackstone down, it will trigger a provision allowing Blackstone to seek out an outside bidder to buy the entire resort.
A sale could have huge implications for Universal Orlando. Some of the resort's most important licensing contracts — including its agreement with Warner Bros. for the rights to Harry Potter — include provisions in which Universal could lose those rights if it is acquired by a new owne

This is what we all feared when Comcast bought NBCUniversal.

[JerrodDRagon]

Wait Wait Wait....could they REALLY lose the rights to Harry Potter???? They just got the land in..how could they break contract already?

[lazyboy97O]

Very interesting since Blackstone also owns SeaWorld and the under construction Legoland Florida.

I am going to have to go back and read through the Harry Potter contract. There has been a lot of misinformation disseminated about the Marvel contract and I would not be surprised to see that happening again.

EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001193125-07-178559
Anybody who wants to read the Harry Potter contract for themselves can do so at the above link. It is the "THEME PARK LICENSE BETWEEN WARNER BROS. CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC.".

[ben1993]

I suspect Universal will be renegotiating the Harry Potter rights with Wb and end up paying a lot more seeing as attendance has gone through the roof.

[princecharming]

usually those contracts are for very long term deals. whoever buys the resort would have to abide by the existing contracts. I heard that blackstone had a meeting with comcast before comcast took over nbc and wasn't happy with it's outcome. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if comcast tried to sell off the universal division as they really don't want to be in the content production, just the content distribution as that's where the money is.

[lazyboy97O]

Nevermind, found what I was looking for.

[edge4004]

It looks like NBCUniversal plans on buying Blackstone's stake in Universal Orlando:

NBCU Likely to Buy Blackstone's Universal Orlando Stake - WSJ.com