Cedar Fair and Six Flags will merge to create a playtime powerhouse in North America

abcnews.go.com:

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging, creating an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging to create an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries.

The combined company, worth more than $3.5 billion, will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property including Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts.

Amusement parks have seen an uptick in revenue but have struggled to raise attendance since the pandemic, even as other entertainment sectors have bounced back. A tie-up between two huge players is expected to at least lower costs.

Cedar Fair reported an attendance of 12.4 million guests in its third quarter, a 1% increase from a year earlier. Six Flags announced a 16% rise in its third-quarter attendance, which totaled 9.3 million guests.

But amusement parks, including Six Flags, has struggled to get people through the gates, said James Hardiman at Citi Investment Research.

“Whereas the theme park industry as a whole has been under significant pressure since the start of the pandemic, Six Flags has created additional pressure of its own, with a volatile new attendance and pricing strategy that has struggled to take root, alienating its core customers and leading to dramatic drops in visitation along the way,” Hardiman wrote.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which have little geographical overlap, anticipate $120 million in cost savings within two years of closing the deal.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair have talked about potential deals before,