TheStreet’s Post

Cedar Fair and Six Flags, two major players in the amusement park industry, are set to merge in an effort to boost investments and increase demand. Although Six Flags will retain its name, the combined company will operate under Cedar Fair's stock ticker. The summer season saw decreased wait times at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando due to factors like extreme weather, reduced post-pandemic travel, and a politically tense atmosphere in Florida. The merger is projected to save $200 million by cutting administrative and operational expenses, while generating $3.4 billion in revenue. Shareholders of Cedar Fair will receive a share in the new company for each of their current shares, while Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.58 shares for each share they own. #Texas #Ontario #TheWaltDisneyCompany #UniversalOrlando #Sandusky #Ohio #CedarFair #CedarPoint #Mexico #Canada #UniversalPictures #BerryFarm #WaltDisneyWorld #NorthAmerica #Ohio #SixFlags #Seaworld #Florida #Schlitterbahn #California

Today marks a historic moment as Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and Six Flags Entertainment Corp announce a definitive merger agreement that will redefine the leisure and entertainment landscape. The combined entity is set to operate under the renowned Six Flags name, bringing together a remarkable portfolio of 42 parks and 9 resort properties across North America. With a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $8 billion, this merger of equals promises to deliver an unmatched amusement park experience. Key Takeaways from this game-changing union: An impressive portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and 9 resort properties will emerge, creating an expansive geographic footprint. Anticipated annual synergies of $200 million, driving a robust financial profile and cash flow to foster further park investments and innovative experiences. A commitment to an enhanced guest experience, underpinned by a stronger operating model and technological advancements. #AmusementParks #MergersAndAcquisitions #SixFlags #CedarFair #EntertainmentIndustry #Innovation #CustomerExperience #GrowthStrategy #BusinessNews https://lnkd.in/gD_Nwnng

In the summer of 2022, I had an opportunity to take my children on an exciting adventure. We embarked on a nine-day roller coaster road trip, visiting seven different parks. This experience holds a special place in my heart, and I hope my kids feel the same way. Being a roller coaster enthusiast and a thrill seeker at heart, I wanted to share this passion with my young boys while I still had the energy. Interestingly, the idea came from my dad, who took my brothers, Phil Murphy, CPA and David Murphy, on a roller coaster road trip while I was away at college. Secretly, I hope my boys continue this tradition with their own children someday. Having visited various amusement parks, I truly hope that this merger enhances the Six Flags parks without diminishing the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company Fair brand. From a marketing and branding standpoint, Cedar Fair offers a more sophisticated experience, which its audience has come to expect. Here's to hoping for even more access to incredible, record-breaking roller coasters in the future! (which Cedar Fair is known for) Kings Dominion is one of my favorite CF parks, even more so than Cedar Point because of the landscaping details and overall feel of the park, even though Cedar point has some of the most epic coasters! Does anyone remember when Macy's merged with Foleys? The Macy's brand used to be more on par with Nordstrom, but unfortunately, it no longer holds the same level of prestige after their merger. I have the same feelings about Whole Foods, although Whole foods has done a somewhat better job of staying true to it's branding. The moral of this story is that branding encompasses much more than just a logo or a color. It represents the essence of your purpose, motivation and existence. Branding is the embodiment of your "why."

I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! With vast swiftness and finesse... Cedar Fair has merged with Six Flags in one of the biggest merger/acquisitions the themed entertainment industry will ever see. This is like if Erewhon merged with Walmart (Six Flags CEO called themselves the "Walmart Chain", don't come for me) 'Six Flags' will be the company name going forward. TBD on park names changing??? Why This Matters v v v v v 42 Parks $8 Billion in approx value $3.4 Billion / year combined revenue $120 Million / year saved due to the merger Cedar Fair's brand familiarity was not a household name to many like Six Flags is, but don't let that fool you! Cedar Fair is behind some of the best parks, rides, and operations in the business all around America, a park in Canada, and now inheriting Six Flags México. Six Flags had the incredible old man dancing commercials (one of the busses can be seen at SF Magic Mountain btw), but also struggled with park operations, dwindling sales, mounting debt, and a bankruptcy all within the last 20 years. Talk about being kicked while you're down... My Thoughts: v v v v v The more polished operations Cedar Fair is experienced in mixed with the brand recognition and vast amount of asset wealth Six Flags has to offer, this merger could turn into a company as powerful as Disney or Universal in the next decade. I'm hopeful Six Flags now can make better use of the DC characters and IP they currently have partnership rights to. Due to constant budget woes for Six Flags, I've always felt their DC theming & overlays left a lot to be desired. Share Your Thoughts! v v v v v Have you ever visited to a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park? If so, share a memory or favorite ride in the comments below! #merger #sixflags #cedarfair #iaapa

As a long-time Cedar Point season pass holder, this is interesting news to put it gently. It will be interesting to see which side takes operational control of the parks (Cedar Fair or Six Flags). I'm curious if they rebrand all parks to be Six Flags whatever or if they keep the CF parks with their current names. The company will also be headquartered in Charlotte instead of Sandusky, which is in name a big loss for a small town although many of the corporate operations had already shifted there in recent years. This deal was also structured to avoid a unitholder vote by CF, which has been a sticking point for other potential mergers/acquisitions. UPDATE: The CF parks (CP, KI, Carowinds, etc) keep their names. They won't get the SF moniker attached. I'm sure there will be SF branding in the park like they have CF on the plates and plastic bags.

Las Vegas buyouts are looking more like tranches of an equity REIT. Carl Icahn holds 10% of Caesar’s and 3 board seats to leverage his holdings in a sort of M&A arbitrage awaiting a premium revision spread to unload. IMHO, there is a fomenting, latent risk in this strategy. $9B strip revs relies on a sustained gaming culture that belies demographics. False growth is found in the financial engineering of these mergers. Carl Icahn Builds Sizable Stake in Casino Group Caesars

UPDATE: It's happening! The plan is to be fully merged by the 1st half of 2024: New Name: Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Stock Symbol: FUN (Cedar Fair's Current) New Exec Chairman: Selim Bassoul (Six Flags CEO) New CEO: Richard Zimmerman (Cedar Fair CEO) Headquarters: Charlotte, NC (Cedar Fair Headquarters) Cost Savings: $200M Annually 🎢 Big report dropping today courtesy of The Wall Street Journal (I paid for a subscription so you don’t have to)! Six Flags  and Cedar Fair Entertainment Company are reportedly on the verge of a merger, a union that would consolidate two of the U.S.'s leading regional theme park chains. 🚀 This week could mark a definitive agreement, barring any unforeseen hitches. This comes at a crucial time, as Cedar Fair is poised to disclose its quarterly results on Thursday. 🌟 What's at stake? >Cedar Fair, famed for attractions like Carowinds and Cedar Point, could bolster its national presence. >Six Flags, known for its 27 parks spanning North America, could expand its footprint, especially in the Midwest. Both chains, with market values sub $2 billion, saw their shares surge post-announcement, highlighting investor enthusiasm. 🎡 Why do it? >Cost Savings: With any merger, you can reduce the corporate ‘behind-the-scenes’ costs of each company which allows you to increase the profitability of the org >Removes competition: If I buy my competition, they aren’t competition anymore and I can reduce the time and costs spent trying to pull customers towards my product >Consolidation: Reduce the number of parks in key markets. You could shift all the people to one park, with no real potential revenue loss, but now you only have to pay to operate one location instead of two. This one is harder to do because these parks have so much infrastructure invested in them but moving a roller coaster has been done before and will be done again. As theme park operators seek recovery post-pandemic, this deal could be a game-changer, marking a significant shift in the landscape. I’ll keep you posted if I hear more! (thank to ChatGPT for the pic)  #ThemeParks #Merger #BusinessStrategy #SixFlags #CedarFair

I thought this was a surprising discussion to come home to. From Screamscape: “Limited Operations Calendars Found At Select Six Flags Parks”   I have some thoughts, we often see this when there are staffing struggles, or expect a light summer business-wise, but this also comes up in times of financial struggles. And usually in this case the parks offer discounts, trying to float attendance at lower prices to sell higher-markup in-park items such as F&B or Flash Pass (or whatever its current name is).   But Six Flags is doubling down on moving towards a “premium” product audience, so gone are the discounts. In are the increased F&B prices. But it seems as though this push isn’t working – if you’re pricing out your audience and attendance is dropping to the point of hurting earnings, are you going in the right direction?   If you’re offering closed rides, 1 train operations, and long waits on the days you are open, are you offering a premium experience?   I haven’t been to a Six Flags in a while, but what I have been to more recently are Cedar Fair parks, and I can’t help but think this is just awful timing for all this with the merger of the two companies. Six Flags shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger, Cedar Fair shareholders complained they didn’t get to vote on it (likely to reject it) / have pushed back on this merger multiple times.   So, I am wondering what some of my connections that analyze the business side of the industry think about this – is some of this cut back simply trying (and failing) to make the books look stronger for the merger with Cedar Fair? Or is this an unfortunately timed window of truth showing why Six Flags needs a merger / change in direction? Because I cannot imagine this type of operational mindset is what Cedar Fair fans and stockholders want to see. But any thoughts?   https://lnkd.in/e_K5z2fK #letsmakeplans #themedentertainment #themeparks #rollercoasters #amusementparks

The multi-year merger and acquisition (M&A) activity between Six Flags $SIX Entertainment Corp $SIX and Cedar Fair LP $FUN has culminated in a union that analysts predict could revolutionize the U.S. amusement park industry. The newly formed entity, retaining the name Six Flags, trades under the $FUN symbol, controlling 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resorts across North America https://ibn.fm/GWx8u

The multi-year merger and acquisition (M&A) activity between Six Flags $SIX Entertainment Corp $SIX and Cedar Fair LP $FUN has culminated in a union that analysts predict could revolutionize the U.S. amusement park industry. The newly formed entity, retaining the name Six Flags, trades under the $FUN symbol, controlling 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resorts across North America https://ibn.fm/GWx8u