Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merging?

Story by Allyson Rideout | Images from NPR.org

Six Flags and Cedar Fair are merging and will have theme parks throughout 17 U.S. states and also in Canada and Mexico. This joint company will be worth more than $3.5 billion. It will have 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and 9 resort properties throughout these three countries. It will also collaborate with Looney Tunes, DC Comics, and Peanuts. With amusement park attendance still seeing a hit in numbers since Covid, this partnership between these two big companies is expected to at least lower costs. "Whereas the theme park industry as a whole has been under significant pressure since the start of the pandemic, Six Flags has created additional pressure of its own, with a volatile new attendance and pricing strategy that has struggled to take root, alienating its core customers and leading to dramatic drops in visitation along the way," said James Hardiman at Citi Investment Research. Six Flags had previously proposed a deal to Cedar Fair but it got turned down. SeaWorld also approached Cedar Fair last year but they also rejected that. “Cedar Fair unitholders will own approximately 51.2% of the combined company, while Six Flags shareholders will own about 48.8%.” says npr.org "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 an official statement. Zimmerman will be the CEO of the soon-to-be combined company while the executive chairmen will be the former CEO of Six Flags, Selim Bassoul. This deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

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