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Six Flags and Cedar Fair to Merge

John_P said:
Didn't Six Flags try the same thing with the Sea World Parks about a year ago as well.
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They apparently did, but we never heard of any sort of offer. With this, there's been confirmation that there was a $4bn offer from Six Flags that was rejected by Cedar Fair.
 
Well… here’s an update I never thought I’d see, hot off the press.

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging!

www.cnbc.com

U.S. theme-park operators Cedar Fair, Six Flags to merge

U.S. amusement park operators Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment on Thursday agreed to merge to fortify their business amid a slowdown in consumer spending.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com

 
Cedar Fair and Six Flags will combine in a merger of equals. The Cedar Fair press release can be read here.

The combined company will operate a portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and 9 resort properties across 17 states in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

It would appear that the Cedar Fair name is going, and the combined company will be known as Six Flags. Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman will be CEO of the new company, with Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul serving as executive chairman.

This is a sad day for competition in the US regional theme park market.
 
Rob said:
Cedar Fair and Six Flags will combine in a merger of equals. The Cedar Fair press release can be read here.

The combined company will operate a portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and 9 resort properties across 17 states in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

It would appear that the Cedar Fair name is going, and the combined company will be known as Six Flags. Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman will be CEO of the new company, with Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul serving as executive chairman.

This is a sad day for competition in the US regional theme park market.
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That's very sad, and also surprising.
 
Sad day for competition, suppose the only silver lining is it seems Cedar Fairs leadership is running the new company so maybe they will lift Six Flags up rather than drag Cedar down?
 
RicketyCricket said:
So it seems like the end of the Cedar Fair name.

Six Flags Kings Island?
Six Flags Cedar Point?
Six Flags Berry Farm?

Gross.
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Whoever called Knott's Berry Farm...Cedar Fair Knott's Berry Farm?

Having been there 12 months ago and speaking to a few locals, they all just referred to it as Knott's.
 
Ils said:
Whoever called Knott's Berry Farm...Cedar Fair Knott's Berry Farm?

Having been there 12 months ago and speaking to a few locals, they all just referred to it as Knott's.
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Six flags parks always incorporate the six flags brand into park names. It makes a park lose identity in my option! How awful would it be if uk parks were called Merlin Alton Towers or Merlin Thorpe Park. Overly corporate and soulless in my eyes, so I really hope they don’t slap in on the front of all cedar fair parks too.
 
Skyscraper said:
Well this came completely out of the blue! Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
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Baring in mind it's been in the works since 2019 (start of this thread), I'm not sure it is quite so out of the blue! ;)

My main worry is for parks where you currently have a Cedar Fair and Six Flags park in close proximity. Does it make sense for the new company to operate two theme parks nearby to each other? Probably not.
 
Rob said:
Baring in mind it's been in the works since 2019 (start of this thread), I'm not sure it is quite so out of the blue! ;)

My main worry is for parks where you currently have a Cedar Fair and Six Flags park in close proximity. Does it make sense for the new company to operate two theme parks nearby to each other? Probably not.
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Two words.

Geauga Lake.

en.wikipedia.org

Geauga Lake - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Connor98 said:
Six flags parks always incorporate the six flags brand into park names. It makes a park lose identity in my option! How awful would it be if uk parks were called Merlin Alton Towers or Merlin Thorpe Park. Overly corporate and soulless in my eyes, so I really hope they don’t slap in on the front of all cedar fair parks too.
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I get the fact they put their name in front of their own parks in the current set up; However, parks such as Knott's, Cedar Fair etc are very strong brands in their own right, I just can't see them adding Six Flags to their name.

Also bearing in mind it's the Cedar CEO leading the company going forward, which would indicate to me that the main shareholders feel their way of working is a more sustainable and likely profitable business model.

Edit: just to add, the more I think about it I wouldn't be surprised if the Six Flag name is removed from all parks in the chain and start to act similar to Merlin. For example just call it Magic Mountain and build the identity of the park from that.
 
Ils said:
I get the fact they put their name in front of their own parks in the current set up; However, parks such as Knott's, Cedar Fair etc are very strong brands in their own right, I just can't see them adding Six Flags to their name.

Also bearing in mind it's the Cedar CEO leading the company going forward, which would indicate to me that the main shareholders feel their way of working is a more sustainable and likely profitable business model.

Edit: just to add, the more I think about it I wouldn't be surprised if the Six Flag name is removed from all parks in the chain and start to act similar to Merlin. For example just call it Magic Mountain and build the identity of the park from that.
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“Upon closing of the transaction the company will operate under the name Six Flags.”

https://otp.tools.investis.com/clie...&FilingId=17024270&CIK=0000701374&Index=10000
 
I read the same @Ils .

Much like the SeaWorld/Busch saga, SeaWorld Entertainment is the company name but there has not been an attempt to rebrand the parks in any way, despite their operations drawing more notable similarities since the company change some years ago.

I too hope that the Six Flags name is retired in favour of individual park identities, because any attempt to swing the other way (“Six Flags Cedar Point”) may break my soul…

Upon reflection I can see that this move has been done for financial robustness against the ever-wobbly economic outlook, but it really puts the kibosh on the amusement park competition in the US.

One thing I noted in the merger statement was about the seasonal impact of income. “…mitigate the impact of seasonality and reduce earnings volatility through a more balanced presence in year-round operating climates”.

Am I right in surmising that a high number of Cedar Fair parks are shorter seasons (query due to climate?) where more Six Flags are longer seasons (query with milder climates?) Very few of either chain are 365 to my knowledge… I can only think of Knotts which is!

Neither have parks in Florida which is the capital of year-round operations.
 
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