Cedar Fair, operator of Knott’s Berry Farm, and Six Flags are merging together in an $8 Billion deal, creating a theme park powerhouse. Between the two companies, they control 27 amusement parts and 15 water parks across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Cedar Fair not only operates Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, they also operate several other parks. These parks are in Sandusky, Ohio, Texas, and Ontario, Canada. Six Flags has about 20 parks across the U.S., two in Mexico, and one in Canada. The merger into one company could lead to better management of seasonal dips for park attendance. The new company will keep the Six Flags name, while continuing to trade under Cedar Fair’s stock name.
Cedar Fair feels the merger will allow more investments to help boost demand. The new company will still have to contend with consumer attendance falling. It will also still contend with well-known rivals like SeaWorld, Universal Studios, and Disney‘s various parks. Disney recently announced a $60 billion investment in renovating and expanding their parks.
Theme parks have been struggling with attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many parks saw shorter wait times for rides and attractions over the summer. Several factors contributed to this like extreme weather, inflation, and the waning post-pandemic travel boom.
It is estimated that the merger will save the companies $200 million in cost. Half of the projected savings will administrative and operations costs. The new company is also projected to see a generated $3.4 billion revenue. Cedar Fair shareholders will receive one share of the new company stock for each share owned. Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.58 shares of the new stock for every share currently owned.
