Six Flags and Cedar Fair set Merger Date, Name C-Suite and Headquarters
Skift Take
Key Points
- Six Flags and Cedar Fair merger set to close on July 1, creating Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
- Combined company valued at $8 billion, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with operations in Sandusky, Ohio.
- Expected financial benefits include $120 million in cost savings and $80 million in annual synergies within two years.
Summary
Six Flags and Cedar Fair have announced that their merger is set to close on July 1, creating a company called Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The new entity, valued at $8 billion including debt, will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with significant operations in Sandusky, Ohio. The combined company will operate 42 parks and nine resort properties across North America, generating $3.2 billion in revenue. Key executive appointments include Richard Zimmerman as CEO and Selim Bassoul as executive chairman. The merger is expected to yield $120 million in cost savings and $80 million in annual synergies within two years.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair said Tuesday that their planned merger is set to close on July 1.
The two companies announced plans for the merger of equals in November and said the combined company would be valued at $8 billion including debt. It will be called Six Flags Entertainment Corporation and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 2 under the ticker symbol FUN.
The headquarters for the larger company will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, with “significant finance and administrative operations” in Sandusky, Ohio, where Cedar Fair is currently based. Six Flags is headquartered in Arlington, Texas.
The combined company will operate 42 parks and nine resort properties in 17 states, Canada, and Mexico.
Six Flags generated $1.4 billion in revenue in 2023, and Cedar Fair generated $1.8 billion in revenue.
Combined Company C-Suite
As previously announced: Richard Zimmerman, president and CEO of Cedar Fair, will take the same position for the combined company. Selim Bassoul, president and CEO of Six Flags, will become executive chairman of the combined company.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair shared several C-suite other appointments on Tuesday.
- Tim Fisher, chief operating officer (currently same position at Cedar Fair)
- Brian Witherow, chief financial officer (currently same position at Cedar Fair)
- Brian Nurse, chief legal and compliance officer, and corporate secretary (currently same position at Cedar Fair)
- Christian Dieckmann, chief strategy officer (currently same position at Cedar Fair)
- Gary Mick, chief integration officer (currently chief financial officer at Six Flags)
Company Financials
The companies said in November that they expect to realize $120 million in administrative and operational cost savings within two years following the merger. That’s in addition to another $80 million in “annual synergies” they said the merger would create.
Based on 2023 numbers, the combined company would generate $3.2 billion in revenue and $990 million in adjusted EBITDA.
The companies said they expect to increase EBITDA by $80 million within three years of the transaction.
The companies shared the terms of the deal in November.
Photo Credit: Pictured: Knott's Berry Farm Amusement Park in California, owned by Cedar Fair. Cedar Fair
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