Comcast is expected to close the deal in three to four weeks after which Gumpel, who has been USJ’s CEO from 2004, will be replaced by Universal Parks and Resorts CFO Jean-Louis Bonnier.
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Comcast owns Universal Studios through its NBCUniversal unit, and Reuters reported the company had been in talks to purchase a controlling stake from Goldman Sachs and other owners of USJ Co, the holding company for the Osaka-based theme park operator.
The $1.5 billion purchase of 51 percent of the theme park is part of the company’s shift of focus to Asia, where theme parks are popular and profitable. $1.67 billion in 2013, which gave it full ownership of NBCUniversal, as well as the NBC broadcast network, and cable channels MSNBC and Bravo.
“We see Comcast and NBCuniversal becoming more of a global company” Brian Roberts, Comcast chief executive officer, told reporters in Osaka on Monday.
Comcast Corp.is making its biggest overseas investment, as the largest US cable operator seeks global growth after being stymied in its bid to acquire its second-largest competitor Time Warner Cable Inc.
USJ is estimated to be worth $6 billion. “Our theme parks in the United States have performed exceptionally well and we look forward to working with our partners to achieve that success in Japan as we plan to introduce significant attractions at USJ over the next five years”. Universal Studios Japan now operates as an independent company under license from NBCU.
It received a record 12.7 million visitors in the fiscal year through March 2015 and had sales of ¥138.5 billion.
The Osaka theme park opened in 2001 and listed on the Tokyo bourse’s Mothers Market for start-ups in 2007. Operation profits for the same period grew a whopping 61% to 39 billion yen, marking an all-time high. In the aftermath of the arrangement, Glenn Gumpel will stop leading USJ after being its CEO for 11 years.
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Shares of the Philadelphia-based media company are down by 0.25% to $56.40 in early morning trading on Monday.
