The Blackstone Group has offered to sell its 50 percent stake in Universal Orlando to co-owner NBCUniversal, a move that could ultimately put the entire resort on the auction block.

NBCUniversal, which in January was acquired by Comcast Corp., has until June 12 to buy Blackstone out. If it doesn't, Blackstone has the right to seek out bidders to buy both sides' shares in the resort.
NBCUniversal would be compelled to sell if Blackstone were able to find a rich enough offer, according to the contract governing the two companies' joint ownership terms. The third-party offer would have to be at least 90 percent of both companies' interests in Universal as implied by Blackstone's asking price for its own half.

The offer to sell from Blackstone, the private-equity giant that acquired its stake in Universal in 2000 and in late 2009 bought SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, comes with Universal in the midst of the strongest financial run in its 21-year history. The resort has in recent months churned out record attendance [...]

NBCUniversal spokeswoman Cindy Gardner told the Journal that the company is "studying the proposal and considering our options."

If NBCUniversal opts not to buy Blackstone's stake and is Blackstone is unable to find a third-party buyer for the full resort within 270 days — nine months — Blackstone would be prohibited from attempting again for another year.  READ MORE >>


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So, let's see... Blackstone wants to sell its share to NBCUniversal. If NBCUniversal doesn't accept the offer, Blackstone has nine months to find a buyer. If the buyer offers at least the 90% of the resort's total value, both Blackstone and NBCUniversal have to sell their share of the resort. If Blackstone doesn't find a buyer in nine (9) months, they've to wait another year before selling again.

All this mess for a resort that is doing absolutely great? Is Blackstone trying to gain an enormous capital because they understand the value of the resort, or are they just wanting to get rid of their share?

What do you think about this unexpected news?