Six Flags, Cedar Fair to merge with a $8 billion deal

Six Flags and Cedar Fair, two of the largest amusement park companies in the United States and Canada, are merging to combine forces in a transaction valued at $8 billion.

The firms, collectively, have influence over 27 theme parks and 15 water parks in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico. Both Six Flags and Cedar Fair are located in separate regions of North America; therefore, a unified firm could assist them in better managing seasonal attendance fluctuations at their theme parks.

Cedar Fair also owns Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California; Schlitterbahn water park in Texas; and Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario, in addition to Cedar Point, which is located in Sandusky, Ohio and serves as the company’s main amusement park. Six Flags is the primary operator of its parks, with approximately 20 parks in the United States, two in Mexico, and one in Canada operating under its own banner.

Cedar Fair has stated that the combined firm will make it possible for management to increase the amount of money invested in the theme parks, which should help raise demand.

The new firm will continue to operate under the Six Flags brand name, but its stock will be traded using Cedar Fair’s ticker symbol, FUN.

The merger of the companies provides them with scale in spite of the fact that consumers are cutting back on their spending, climate change, and well-known competitors like SeaWorld, Comcast’s Universal Studios, and Disney, the latter of which has recently announced a $60 billion investment in its parks.

Since the pandemic began, attendance at amusement parks has been on the decline. Wait times for rides and attractions at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in Florida were short this summer for a number of different reasons. These reasons include the extreme weather and heat in Florida, a waning post-pandemic travel boom, and a tense political climate in Florida that has prompted travel warnings from some groups.

According to their forecasts, the combination of the companies will result in cost savings of $200 million, with more than half of those savings coming from administrative and operational cost cuts. Additionally, it is anticipated that this will result in revenue of $3.4 billion.

Shareholders of Cedar Fair (FUN) will get one share of stock in the newly combined firm for every share that is presently held, while shareholders of Six Flags (SIX) would receive 0.58 shares for every share that is now held.

FAQs:

Q1: Six Flags operates in which countries?
Ans. Six Flags operates 27 parks in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Q2: In which states is Cedar Fair located?
Ans. The parks are located in the US states of Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Virginia, Minnesota, and Michigan, as well as Toronto, Canada. Cedar Fair’s headquarters are in Sandusky, Ohio, in the United States.