It might seem a bit strange that Universal doesn't actually own what happens to be the world's most-visited Universal Studios theme park, but such is the nature of foreign theme park investments. (Tokyo Disney is owned by the Oriental Land Co., not the Walt Disney Company, for another example.) Universal Studios Japan is owned by a holding company, USJ Co., which is in turn owned by a variety of investment banks and private-equity funds, including Goldman Sachs Group. USJ Co. operates Universal Studios Japan under license from NBCUniversal, but now the "mother ship" appears to want to buy into a piece of the action for itself.
The Wall Street Journal reports USJ Co. is putting off plans for an initial public offering to raise money by selling stock in the company, due to its talks with Comcast. The Journal reports that a potential deal for a stake in the company would put USJ Co.'s worth at about US$6 billion.
Universal Studios Japan welcomed more than 10 million visitors last year, helped by the opening of its Wizarding World of Harry Potter in July. Universal also holds the rights to Sesame Street, Hello Kitty and Marvel characters at the park, in addition to Universal's own franchises. USJ Co. also is in the process of developing a second theme park, without Universal branding, in Okinawa.
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Although they officially signed an agreement to build Universal Beijing, it's just an agreement.
I do recall that they had an agreement in place to build Universal Studios Korea until that deal fell through.
It all depends on how Shanghai Disneyland does next year when it opens.
If it swims, universal Beijing will still be a go, but it sinks like Disneyland Paris, then all bets are off.
Remember that Universal Studios also had plans to open in Dubai and Moscow as well and all that stands in Dubai still is the iconic Universal Studios Gate.
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