SeaWorld Entertainment is looking to make a showy market debut, as the theme park operator seeks to raise up to $540 million in its forthcoming initial public offering.
In an amended prospectus on Tuesday, the company said that it planned on selling 20 million shares at between $24 and $27 apiece. Half of the shares sold will come from its owner, the Blackstone Group.
At the midpoint of that range, SeaWorld would be valued at nearly $2.4 billion.
If the company â€" home to Shamu the killer whale and a few financially minded penguins â€" succeeds in meeting its fund-raising goal, its I.P.O. will be among the five biggest offerings in the United States so far this year, according to Renaissance Capital.
The theme park company, which Blackstone bought from Anheuser-Busch in 2009, is hoping to take advantage of growing appetite for I.P.O.’s. Companies raised $22 billion in their trading debuts in the first quarter this year, up 27 percent from the same time a year ago, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
In nearly four years under private equity ownership, SeaWorld has grown its annual revenue by almost 17 percent, to $1.4 billion. Last year it earned $77 million, as the its 11 parks drew in more visitors through an improving economy and more attractions. Though it draws the majority of its revenue from admissions, the resort operator also said that it has stepped up its merchandising and licensing efforts.
SeaWorld plans to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SEAS.†Blackstone will continue to own about 70.5 percent of its stock.
