A Chinese investment company has agreed to take a 21% stake in SeaWorld Entertainment.

Zhonghong Holding, a subsidiary of Zhonghong Zhuoye Group, will acquire the equity interest in SeaWorld currently held by Blackstone for a price of US$23 per share.

Following the investment, SeaWorld and Zhonghong Holding will work together to develop the “theme parks, water parks, and family entertainment centres” in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

“Zhonghong Group is making a significant, long-term investment in SeaWorld, reflecting their appreciation of the strength of our brand, our potential to grow the company and a shared commitment to protect wildlife and the environment,” said Joel Manby, president & CEO of SeaWorld Entertainment.

Yoshikazu Maruyama, president of Zhonghong Group’s American operations, added; “We are delighted to engage with SeaWorld to bring this iconic, world-class family entertainment brand to China. SeaWorld’s commitment to inspiring guests to protect animals and our oceans is increasingly relevant to people all around the world.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Yoshikazu Maruyama and Yongli Wang, Zhonghong’s chief strategy officer, will both take a seat on the SeaWorld board. In future, Zhonghong will not be able to acquire more than 24.9% of SeaWorld’s outstanding shares without board approval.

For Blackstone, this marks the latest example of its strategy of divesting American tourism and hospitality assets to Chinese companies; it recent sold its stake in Hilton Worldwide to HNA Group and has also offloaded Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Anbang Insurance Group.

The SeaWorld transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.