When Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) CEO Carlos Brito vowed to sell $7 billion in "non-core" assets this year to help offset the $52-billion acquisition of St. Louis' Anheuser-Busch by Belgium's InBev , he was facing a daunting task.

The takeover that created the brewing behemoth closed in November amid a collapsing economy and tightening credit markets. Getting reasonable prices for assorted corporate pieces seemed a stretch.

But Brito, who is famous for cutting costsand eschewing perks, is about halfway to his goal. And if a Friday report in the Wall Street Journalproves true, he will be on the threshold of fulfilling his promise on time.

Citing unidentified sources, the Journalsaid Anheuser-Busch InBev is trying to sell its theme parks to asset management giant Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX). The companies haven't commented about the discussions or the article's assertion that the price could be $2.5 billion to $3 billion.

Anheuser-Busch InBev owns 10 venues, including Sea World and Busch Gardens. Blackstone is the majority owner of U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments Group, (which includes Madame Tussauds and LEGOLAND). Merlin owns theme parks primarily in Europe but also in the U.S. and Asia. Blackstone also owns 50% of the Universal Orlando theme park/resort complex.

Fun while it lasted
For the independent Anheuser-Busch, theme parks represented one-part marketing deviceand one-part decent-profit business. Ever since the takeover, the park business has been barely mentioned in Anheuser-Busch InBev's communications, and the company doesn't provide separate financial data on it.

The last detailed look was a 2008 third-quarter 10-Q filing from the still-independent St. Louis brewer. For nine months, theme parks produced revenue of $1.14 billion, with an operating profit margin of nearly 24%.

Merlin Entertainments reported $966 million in revenue for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31.

Better BUD balance sheet
So far, Brito's major divestures, worth nearly $3.3 billion, include: Continued...