WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: The amusement park operators attracted a combined 47 million visitors in 2022 throughout their portfolios.
Amusement park operators Cedar Fair LP (NYSE: FUN) and Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX) said Thursday they’ve reached a deal to merge in an all-stock deal valued at about $2 billion.
The deal will put Six Flags America in Prince George’s County and Cedar Fair-owned Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, under the same ownership. Those two parks are the currently biggest amusement attractions in the Baltimore-Richmond corridor.
Six Flags shareholders are in line to receive 0.58 shares in the new company for each of their existing shares, while Cedar Fair shareholders will receive one share in the combined company for each they currently own. Cedar Fair shareholders will own roughly 51.2% of the new company, which will retain the Six Flags name but trade under the Cedar Fair ticker symbol of “FUN.”
The combined company, a master limited partnership, will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cedar Fair is currently based in Sandusky, Ohio, while Six Flags is based in Arlington, Texas. The new company will operate a combined portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states, Canada and Mexico. The new Six Flags will have an enterprise value of $8 billion based on the debt and equity values of the existing companies. The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year.
The new Six Flags will have the scale to compete against bigger rivals in the amusement park space, including The Walt Disney Co. and SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., which owns Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. The combined company will maintain the entertainment partnerships of the predecessor companies, including Six Flags rights to the intellectual property of Looney Tunes and D.C. Comics. Cedar Fair has the rights to some of the “Peanuts” portfolio.
“Cedar Fair and Six Flags have minimal market overlap of park operations, and the combined company’s complementary geographic footprint is expected to mitigate the impact of seasonality and reduce earnings volatility through a more balanced presence in year-round operating climates,” the companies said in an announcement.
Cedar Fair drew roughly 27 million visitors across its portfolio in 2022, while Six Flags attracted more than 20 million.
The companies said they expect roughly $200 million in cost synergies from the deal, including $120 million in administrative and operational costs to be cut within two years of closing.
Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman will be the president and CEO of the combined company, while Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul will serve as executive chairman. Both companies will receive six board seats on the combined company’s 12-seat board of directors.
$57.1 million — Third-quarter operating loss for Arlington diversified holding company Graham Holdings Co. compared to an operating profit of $59.5 million in last year’s third quarter. The company attributed the loss primarily to $98.3 million in goodwill and other impairment charges tied to the restructuring of its consumer internet business and declining revenue at a manufacturing unit that makes electrical products for commercial offices. Declining advertising revenue at its television stations also crimped profits, the company said. It reported operating cash flow of $83.7 million, down 16% year over year. Cash flow declined in the television, manufacturing, automotive and retail businesses and increased in the health care and education business lines.
Odds and ends
- Pat Shanahan, a 30-year veteran of The Boeing Co. and engineer by training, has taken over as interim CEO of one of Boeing’s biggest and most problematic suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems. (Wall Street Journal)
- The city of Alexandria will clean up toxic pollution along the Potomac waterfront as part of a settlement. The city was sued by an environmental group for allowing coal tar and other pollutants from a now-shuttered power plant to leak into the river. (DCist/WAMU)
- More than seven years in the making, chef Christian Irabién’s seafood-centric Mexican restaurant and tortilleria, Amparo Fondita, is now open in Dupont Circle. (Washingtonian)
