Six Flags and Cedar Truthful will merge

Cedar Truthful and Six Flags have mixed to create an expanded theme park operator with operations in 17 U.S. states and three international locations.

The mixed firm, valued at greater than $3.5 billion, will embrace 27 theme parks, 15 water parks and 9 resorts in the USA, Canada and Mexico. It would even have leisure partnerships and a portfolio of mental properties together with Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.

Have seen amusement parks Increase in revenue However it has struggled to extend attendance for the reason that pandemic, at the same time as different leisure sectors have rebounded. A tie-up between two large gamers is predicted to at the very least scale back prices.

The Cedar Truthful reported attendance of 12.4 million friends within the third quarter, a rise of 1% from the earlier 12 months. Six Flags reported a 16% enhance in its third-quarter attendance, which reached 9.3 million friends.

Six Flags and Cedar Truthful, which do not need a lot geographic overlap, anticipate to avoid wasting $120 million in prices inside two years of closing the deal.

Beneath the settlement introduced Thursday, Cedar Truthful unitholders will obtain one share of widespread inventory within the mixed firm for every unit owned, whereas Six Flags shareholders will obtain 0.5800 shares of widespread inventory within the mixed firm for every share owned.

Cedar Truthful unitholders will personal about 51.2% of the mixed firm, whereas Six Flags shareholders will personal about 48.8%.

“Our merger with Six Flags will convey collectively two of North America’s iconic theme park corporations to create a extremely diversified footprint and a extra sturdy working mannequin to reinforce the parks’ choices and efficiency,” Cedar Truthful CEO Richard Zimmerman stated in a ready assertion.

Zimmerman will likely be president and CEO of the mixed firm. Salim Basol, president and CEO of Six Flags, will change into CEO.

Given their broader geographic footprint as a single firm, seasonal fluctuations ought to be average, the businesses stated.

The corporate’s newly fashioned board of administrators will embrace six administrators from Cedar Truthful and 6 administrators from Six Flags.

The corporate will likely be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and can keep important monetary and administrative operations in Sandusky, Ohio, the place Cedar Truthful is headquartered.

Six Flags is now headquartered in Arlington, Texas.

As soon as the deal is accomplished, the mixed firm will function beneath the Six Flags title and commerce beneath the ticker image “FUN” on the New York Inventory Trade.

The deal, which was accredited by the boards of administrators of each corporations, is scheduled to happen within the first half of subsequent 12 months. It nonetheless wants approval from Six Flags shareholders.

Shares of Six Flags Leisure Corp. and Cedar Truthful LP had been primarily flat earlier than the opening bell on Thursday, however each rose greater than 9% this week after rumors of a deal started to unfold.