Who took over SeaWorld?

Six Flags announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase SeaWorld Cleveland from Busch Entertainment Corporation on January 10, 2001, for $110 million.



As of early 2026, SeaWorld is owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts Inc. (formerly known as SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.). The company officially rebranded in early 2024 to better reflect its diverse portfolio of theme parks, which includes not only SeaWorld but also Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and several water parks like Aquatica and Adventure Island. The current leadership, including CEO Marc Swanson, has focused the company's 2026 strategy on driving park attendance and per-capita spending through new attractions like "SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep" in Orlando. While the company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, it operates as a centralized entity headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The rebrand marked a significant shift in corporate identity, distancing the parent company's name from the specific "SeaWorld" brand following years of public scrutiny regarding its marine life programs.

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SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded company.

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The parks were bought in 1989 by Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch, which is best known for brewing beer. In 2009, Busch Entertainment was sold to the Blackstone Group and subsequently renamed SeaWorld Entertainment.

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As of September 20, 2023 there are: At least 176 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or still-born calves. SeaWorld holds 18 orcas in its three parks in the United States.

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Tilikum's death Following Brancheau's death, Tilikum stayed at the park until he died in 2017 from a lung infection.

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In the year following Blackfish's release, SeaWorld's attendance dropped by one million visitors. In 2014, the company announced an 84% fall in income and saw its share price drop by 33%, although they attributed this to 'the seasonal nature of the business' and not due to the impact of the documentary.

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Tilikum was a bull killer whale (Orcinus orca) bought by the SeaWorld marine park in Orlando, Florida in 1992 to be part of the park's orca exhibit.

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SeaWorld Entertainment's CEO is Marc Swanson, appointed in Apr 2020, has a tenure of 3.58 years. total yearly compensation is $1.14M, comprised of 39.6% salary and 60.4% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 0.23% of the company's shares, worth $6.60M.

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Now Blackstone is finally free of that burden. On Friday, the company sold its stake in SeaWorld to Zhonghong Group, a Chinese investment firm, for about $449 million. The deal will pave the way for SeaWorld to open parks in China. The sale was a quiet end to an investment Blackstone had once been happy to promote.

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The 2013 documentary Blackfish sparked public outcry over SeaWorld's treatment of orcas, also known as killer whales, and the theme park has been suffering ever since: The loss of $1.7 billion in market capitalization the year of the film's release, plummeting attendance, and the loss of corporate partnerships.

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“Most of our orcas were born at SeaWorld, and those that were born in the wild have been in our parks for the majority of their lives,” he wrote. “If we release them into the ocean, they will likely die. In fact, no orca or dolphin born under human care has ever survived release into the wild.

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