The world of amusement parks is not a cheap one to maintain. During the pandemic the tourism industry was hit hard, including theme parks of all kinds. Six Flags, one of the biggest non-Disney names in the business wasn’t faring all that well even before the pandemic and it certainly wasn’t doing any better after it. It only made sense for them to try and merge with another company to get a stronger foothold in the market. Earlier this year it was announced they intended to merge with Cedar Fair and that business arrangement is now complete.
Cedar Fair is the name of the company that started with Cedar Point, one of the oldest amusement parks in the US., dating back to 1870. Since then, the company has expanded to include parks like California’s Great America, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Valleyfair in Minnesota. Six Flags on the other hand is noteworthy for the name itself and the various parks it has all across the country. It also has licensing deals that it allowed it access to characters from Warner Bros. properties, allowing it to become known for rides like Superman – Ride of Steel, and The Dark Knight Coaster.
Unfortunately for the two companies, they don’t carry the kind of power and desirable brands that companies like Universal and Disney have when it comes to parks. Sure, Superman makes for a cool roaster coaster, but does that compare to the entire Star Wars universe or the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? And what about Universal expanding to include Super Nintendo World? Meanwhile, Six Flags has the old guy in a suit and glasses who dances a lot. [Editor’s note: His name is actually Mr. Six. He was originally portrayed by choreographer Danny Teeson. The character does occasionally make appearances at the park.]
As analysts pointed out, Six Flags had the locations, the brand name connections, and the thrill rides, but they didn’t have the business savvy that Cedar Fair had. So under this new merger, the name of Six Flags will remain but the business will effectively be run by the team from Cedar Fair. With their combined efforts the hope will be that their 42 parks across North America will be able to compete against the bigger aforementioned players.
The merger was completed on Monday, July 1st. The company is now officially named Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. If you’re looking for it on the stock market though, it’s trading under the name, FUN. Nothing more fun than mergers and acquisitions, right?
