BREAKING: NBCUniversal to Buy Seaworld Orlando

Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal agreed to buy a 63 percent stake in the three Seaworld parks from private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP for about $2.9 billion.

The transaction puts the overall value of the Orlando, Florida parks at about $3.17 billion, Philadelphia-based Comcast said in a statement today. Blackstone, based in New York, paid about $2.7 billion for its stake in 2009

Blackstone set a June 12 deadline for NBCUniversal to buy its stake. The parks comprise SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove and the Aquatica. It does not include parks outside of the Orlando area.