News: Cedar Fair and Six Flags announce equal merger

^ This. Exactly this. Ouimet’s resume would make me feel more confident in this merger than Zimmerman’s.

The only thing I hope we adopt from Six Flags is the idea of kicking IROC to the curb.

I think the Six Flags brand is really only a tarnished brand in Cedar Fair markets. It will take a lot less to rehabilitate the Six Flags brand than it would to *establish* Cedar Fair as a brand. Calling the company Six Flags makes all kinds of sense, and trading as FUN tells us what's really going on.

As for "original" Six Flags parks, I think you forgot one: Six Flags over Mid America (Six Flags St. Louis). Of the Six Flags parks I have visited, that one has been my favorite, actually.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Jeff:

You don't have to be optimistic, it's pretty clear that is what will happen. Six Flags corporate, what's left of it, will disappear. They can call it a merger from the transactional sense, but this is Cedar Fair acquiring Six Flags without having to outright pay for it.

But Bassoul is still involved. His “expertise” has run Six Flags down to its current state. Is he going to be a figure head only with no corporate power? Maybe so. He is about filling his own pockets. Not stockholders.

This popped up yesterday. https://seekingalpha.com/ne...-regulator

So Six Flags shareholders have to be allowed to vote on the merger, but Cedar Fair unitholders don't? I wonder why that is? I guess I should know that as a Cedar Fair unitholder. Now that I think about it, I don't recall a vote when CF bought Paramount either.

Cedar Fair partnership agreement, unitholder vote is required if there is a Change in Control. Merger doesn't result in a Change in Control if Cedar Fair unitholders own at least 51% of the post-merger entity equity. From merger announcement, Cedar Fair unitholders will own 51.2% of the post-merger entity.

Without the prior approval of Partners whose aggregate Percentage Interest constitutes at least 66 2/3% of the aggregate Percentage Interest of the Partners, the General Partner shall not approve a transaction or a series of related transactions which (i) results in a Change of Control, or (ii) results in the sale or exchange of all or substantially all of the assets of Cedar Point Park.

“Change in Control” shall be deemed to occur if: (a) any person or group (as such term is defined in section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as then in effect), other than the Partnership or any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Partnership, shall acquire, directly or indirectly, beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as then in effect) of more than twenty percent (20%), on a fully diluted basis, of the economic or voting interest in the Partnership’s then Outstanding Units, other than the acquisition of Units from the Partnership or by virtue of a merger or consolidation to which the Partnership is a party, (b) a merger or consolidation of the Partnership with any other Person, other than a merger or consolidation that would result in the Units of the Partnership Outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining Outstanding or by being converted or exchanged for voting securities of the surviving or resulting entity or its parent corporation) more than fifty-one percent (51%) of the voting interest of the partnership interests or other voting securities of the Partnership or such surviving or resulting entity outstanding after such merger or consolidation, or (c) the liquidation of the Partnership or an agreement or agreements for the sale or disposition by the Partnership of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership.

https://www.sec.gov/Archive...dandre.htm

Paramount was an acquisition not a merger.

Now that it’s done I think I’m ready for it. Looking at the new map of the combined parks, it looks like some epic season pass road trips could be had next season.

I remember the good ol' days when this was an April Fool's Day joke.

I suppose there is this:

"Each park in the combined company’s portfolio will retain their legacy branding with no changes to park names currently being planned or contemplated," according to a press release from the combined company Monday.

That is from this article.

Interesting about being here in Ohio (when you look at the map), Buffalo (no thanks) and Chicago (also no thanks) are the closest Six Flags parks.

It's been said here and there by others in other places; if the current leadership at Cedar Fair was not what it is, I might be more optimistic. And I'm usually optimistic.

So much for quality over quantity.

I just read from an article at Cleveland.com that "Cedar Fair in 2023 employed approximately 3,350 full-time employees along with 49,700 part-time workers, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; Six Flags had 1,350 full-time workers with 41,000 seasonal employees."

How did Cedar Fair have so many more employees when Six Flags had so many more parks? I'm assuming this was a normal figure. Is this representative of why park quality, cleanliness, safety, etc. have all been perceived as so poor in the last ~two decades?

To make up the quality, Cedar Fair, er, Six Flags, will need to do some more investing in employees.

Cedar Point alone needs to invest in the cleanliness of their park. Back in 2010-2011, park sweeps were a thing and once managed under the park operations division. I have not seen a dedicated park sweep in years. Sure, I see the occasional park services employee with an orange shirt emptying trash cans these days…but park sweeps ensured no trash on the ground, scraped gum off of the midways, and always de-cobbing the fence lines.

Even the buildings (most notable Breakers and Grand Pavilion) can use a good de-cobbing and dead mayfly removal. Perhaps a routine pressure wash or hose down just to get the old bugs off?

When I worked at the park, areas were always hosed and scrubbed with deck brushes. Now, the midways and queues are so dirty. Look at the steps that lead up to Gatekeeper’s station next time. Filthy with gum and grime.

Kevinj:

Interesting about being here in Ohio (when you look at the map), Buffalo (no thanks) and Chicago (also no thanks) are the closest Six Flags parks.

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with SFGAm? While I get that it's a far cry from Cedar Point or Kings Island, it's still a decent park, especially in the "old" Six Flags chain.

JeffH:

How did Cedar Fair have so many more employees when Six Flags had so many more parks?

There was a huge purge among full-timers at the parks and corporate when Bassoul took over. And as for part-time, well, I think everything is generally understaffed at the legacy Six Flags parks.

TwistedWicker77:

Cedar Point alone needs to invest in the cleanliness of their park. Back in 2010-2011, park sweeps were a thing and once managed under the park operations division. I have not seen a dedicated park sweep in years. Sure, I see the occasional park services employee with an orange shirt emptying trash cans these days…but park sweeps ensured no trash on the ground, scraped gum off of the midways, and always de-cobbing the fence lines.

I'm in the park at least twice a week. I always see dedicated sweeps, in their yellow shirts, sweeping and picking up trash. The last time I was in the park, I saw two sweeps "de-cobbing" the fence near Corkscrew. Cedar Point is still one of the cleanest parks around.

I haven’t been since the second week of June. Maybe things have changed. However, the fences, the buildings, and ride areas are filthy compared to years prior. I noticed it, my family noticed it, and other park goers noticed it (most notably in line at Valravn, Millennium, and Gatekeeper).

Edited to add: Perhaps the park is one of the cleanest (it isn’t cleaner than Carowinds and Kings Island. Heck, even Holiday World). But because I know what the park is capable of in terms of maintaining its beauty, it’s not a bad thing for me to hold them to high expectations. It’s crazy how it went from being known as one of the best parks in the world to just another park in the chain in just a matter of a couple years. Judging by this thread, I’m not the only one who has noticed the weird changes since Zimmerman took over.

Ride queues aside, the midways generally feel free of litter. But the walkways and buildings do seem dirtier (Breakers looks especially rough).

Was there more regularly scheduled power washing of midways and buildings in the past? Or maybe just the dry summer?

As we approach August, I'm very intrigued by what the 2025 season/annual pass structure is going to look like for the new Six Flags chain. I'm optimistic there will be a pass that gets me into both Great America and Cedar Point, but also curious how that will be priced assuming it does exist. And will we see Flash Pass at Cedar Point? Or Fast Lane at Great America?

So far, the new merger has brought about a surcharge fee at some Six Flags parks has been eliminated. I understand also that the legacy parks will now have a chaperone policy after 4pm.

I’m a logo nerd, so I’m interested to see what changes are made to the legacy Six Flags park logos this offseason. I’d like to think they’ll adopt the legacy Cedar Fair style.

It's a good possibility, considering the Six Flags corporate logo is now sporting the Cedar Fair font. It would be nice to see some of the SF legacy parks drop the SF nameplate from the park name (i.e. Magic Mountain, Great America, Great Adventure), by slowly phasing it out over the next few years.

While were in the name changing business, let's drop the confederate flag reference as well. Name it Five Flags.