OAN’s James Meyers
11:12 AM – Thursday, November 2, 2023
Cedar Fair and Six Flags have announced a merger to make an expanded amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 states and three countries.
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The merger deal is worth $8 billion, boasting 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resort properties in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The deal also involves entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property, including brands such as Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.
Cedar Fair owns the flagship theme park Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Knott’s Berry Farm in California, Schlitterbahn Water Park in Texas, and Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario.
Due to the dip in attendance for amusement parks over the years, Cedar Fair said the merger will now allow management to increase investments in the parks, which will help boost demand.
Cedar Fair reported an attendance of 12.4 million guests in its third quarter, which is only a 1% increase from a year earlier. Meanwhile, Six Flags earned a larger increase, announcing a 16% rise in its third-quarter attendance, which totaled 9.3 million guests.
Both amusement park companies are estimating $120 million in cost savings within two years of closing the deal.
Additionally, Cedar Fair unitholders will receive one share of common stock in the combined company for each unit owned, while Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.5800 shares in the combined company for each share owned.
Cedar Fair unitholders will own 51.2% of the merged company, and Six Flags shareholders will own 48.8%.
“Our merger with Six Flags will bring together two of North America’s iconic amusement park companies to establish a highly diversified footprint and a more robust operating model to enhance park offerings and performance,” Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman said in a prepared statement.
Zimmerman will become the president and CEO of the merged company. Selim Bassoul, president and CEO of Six Flags, will take over as executive chairman for the combined company.
The combined company’s newly formed board will include six directors from Six Flags and six directors from Cedar Fair.
Once the deal officially closes, the merged company will operate under the name Six Flags and trade under the ticker symbol “FUN” on the New York Stock Exchange.
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