There's no simple answer there. The easiest path as somebody else pointed out would be for an eventually closing and bankruptcy sale of SeaWorld Orlando to Comcast for an eventual rebuild of that land.
The problems are how to deal with the larger animals and what kind of changes could make the attendance at a Universal-run SeaWorld comparable to USF and IoA.
What an understatement.
You have some good assets and some terrible ones. And there's no way someone wants everything that Seaworld has.
-Seaworld San Diego is the worst of all their parks- Whoever buys SW will try to either find someone to take it off their hands for nothing, or more likely- just shutter the doors and write it off. As for Aquatica San Diego- that actually
could be sold off- but likely to someone local as there isn't another regional park close by.
-Seaworld San Antonio will likely be the dumping ground of all Orcas for whoever buys it. Which the facility isn't designed or capable of handling in it's current state. The layout of San Antonio is phenomenal- Seaworld on one side, Aquatica in the middle, and Discovery Point on the other side- all connected with one security entrance and parking. It also has room for a couple hotels as well. Tons of potential here. Unfortunately, it would likely be sold to Six Flags who has Fiesta Texas close-by with a poor Hurricane Harbor.
-Busch Gardens- Likely to be sold off (or the only thing kept, depending on who buys). This would be ok though. Someone wants Williamsburg- someone wants Tampa. Six Flags would be a good fit location-wise, certainly. Merlin would also be eager to take this- as would Kennywood.
-Seaworld Orlando/Aquatica/Discovery Cove. This is the key thing, right?
The key to remember here is that we keep discussing "rebranding"- which is what would need to happen. No one outside of Universal or Disney could afford to just close a park to rebuild it.
So lets play the game that Universal bought Seaworld and what I would think would happen:
-San Diego is written off- animals shipped off to zoos/aquariums and the big ticket items to San Antonio. Aquatica is sold off locally.
-Pawn Busch Gardens off to Merlin or Kenny- recoup a huge chunk of costs right here.
-Seaworld Orlando- animals shipped off to zoo/aquariums and big ticket items to San Antonio. Aquatica and Discovery Cove running as-is under it's current state. Seaworld Orlando stays open- minimal rides and staff but still enough while redoing major sections at a time to become it's 3rd/4th theme park.
-Seaworld San Antonio- with all the animals- gets sold off to an independent, China, Six Flags, whoever- this is actually a pretty profitable park. Since they'll have too many animals- orcas and the like will be sold off and shipped and they keep as many as they can maintain.
If that happens- Uni's reputation can come out unscathed, but by selling off all the parts- is it worth it for what they get + risk and potential? Doubtful.
***The bottom line in all this, and what no one is talking about- is that the ones who will suffer the most with
any acquisition will be the animals. Not one potential suitor mentioned in this thread will be better for the Orcas than Seaworld is currently. In almost any situation- they're likely to be sold off to Russia, China or some small aquariums around the world. San Antonio can't house them all. Its a shame.
So congratulations Blackfish- you ruined Seaworld and the Orcas will be the ones who suffer for it.