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Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merge


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Hopping into the party late -

As many have alluded, the REIT spinoff is not something you'd want to root for as a park fan. I know many have mentioned Frisch's, and that's valid, but a leaseback deal is more common than you'd think. Many big box retailers buy land for a location, build the property, then sell it to a REIT to free up cash flows. This could affect parks in particular because as time goes on and there is more of a separation of ownership between the Company and the REIT, there will be more pressure to sell parks for their land value. 

Also, we talked about some rumored CEOs on Tower Topics; however, I want you to pay close attention to who they actually chose. If it's an industry person then that means the Board and the future CEO think they can weather the storm. If they pick someone from PE or a name with a pedigree that doesn't appear to make sense they may mean something else. 

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As far as REIT,  SFET has exercised the option to purchase the rest of SFOG. I know that's not an REIT issue, but the concept is similar:  control your own destiny with a park. REIT would destroy that.

They were/are planning to "buy out" the partners in this park by 2027 for $332m. I don't know how much they already own, plus all of the physical aspects and infrastructure would be, but selling the land to a REIT would make absolutely no sense. I don't see a world in which the REIT could or would pay the value that is there.  If they did, imagine the cost of the leaseback.  

I believe they want to do the same for Over Texas. 

However, when the sale of  SFA is made known,  it could give a hint on what value they could realize in markets with high land value. 

I'm far from a financial expert, but this makes no sense to me in a lease back scenario. 

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18 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

If they pick someone from PE or a name with a pedigree that doesn't appear to make sense they may mean something else. 

Forgive my ignorance, but what does PE stand for in this instance? All I can think about with that acronym is either Professional Engineer or Palace Entertainment.

 

7 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

As far as REIT,  SFET has exercised the option to purchase the rest of SFOG. I know that's not an REIT issue, but the concept is similar:  control your own destiny with a park. REIT would destroy that.

They were/are planning to "buy out" the partners in this park by 2027 for $332m. I don't know how much they already own, plus all of the physical aspects and infrastructure would be, but selling the land to a REIT would make absolutely no sense. I don't see a world in which the REIT could or would pay the value that is there.  If they did, imagine the cost of the leaseback.  

I believe they want to do the same for Over Texas. 

However, when the sale of  SFA is made known,  it could give a hint on what value they could realize in markets with high land value. 

I'm far from a financial expert, but this makes no sense to me in a lease back scenario. 

It might make zero sense for you or me, but for a company full of people who've shown they have no clear direction in mind, it would be an easy way to get some money. I really hope enough of that C-Suite understands that selling the land would be a horrible idea.

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19 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what does PE stand for in this instance? All I can think about with that acronym is either Professional Engineer or Palace Entertainment.

 

It might make zero sense for you or me, but for a company full of people who've shown they have no clear direction in mind, it would be an easy way to get some money. I really hope enough of that C-Suite understands that selling the land would be a horrible idea.

PE = Private Equity. Think Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, etc 

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2 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

https://investors.sixflags.com/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Six-Flags-Announces-Corporate-Governance-Changes/default.aspx

Executive Chairman Selim Bassoul and Lead Independent Director Daniel J. Hanrahan to step down December 31, 2025. Marilyn Spiegel elected non-executive Chair of the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2026

Worth noting: Marilyn Spiegel has experience with REITS and land lease agreements from her casino and hospitality background. 

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6 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

Worth noting: Marilyn Spiegel has experience with REITS and land lease agreements from her casino and hospitality background. 

The land that currently occupies Kings Island would be a great location for a new Bengals Stadium. :P

IMG_6164.jpeg

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10 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

Worth noting: Marilyn Spiegel has experience with REITS and land lease agreements from her casino and hospitality background. 

Which REITs? As far as I can tell, Wynn Resorts does not lease its land in Vegas. Her time working at Harrah's Entertainment predates the creation of Vici Properties.

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https://finimize.com/content/activist-investors-shake-up-six-flags-entertainments-boardroom

Quote

What’s going on here?

Six Flags just granted a board seat to Sachem Head Capital Management, giving the activist investor more sway as the theme park operator copes with a share price that’s tumbled over 50% this year.

What does this mean?

Sachem Head Capital now controls almost 10% of Six Flags and has landed a role on the company’s nominating and governance committee, bolstering its influence over key decisions. The move lands amid a rough patch for Six Flags, with shares down 55% since January as bad weather dampened summer turnout. Another activist, Land & Buildings, which owns about 2%, is reviving calls for Six Flags to spin off its underlying real estate into a standalone investment trust—a proposal that’s been in the mix since late 2022. All this comes on the heels of a merger with Cedar Fair in 2024, making the company a bigger player in entertainment but also stirring up more scrutiny from hands-on investors.

 

https://investors.sixflags.com/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Six-Flags-Appoints-Jonathan-Brudnick-to-Board-of-Directors/default.aspx

Quote

“Jonathan’s appointment advances the Board’s ongoing refreshment process and we are pleased to welcome him to the Board,” said Bassoul. “As an engaged shareholder with significant capital markets and transaction experience, Jonathan brings important perspectives that will be additive to our Board as the Company enters its next chapter of growth and value creation. Six Flags is a great business with tremendous upside, and I look forward to seeing its full value unlocked in the years ahead.”

“It is a privilege to join the Six Flags Board at such a pivotal moment for the Company, and we appreciate the constructive engagement we have had with the Board and management team,” said Brudnick. “We invested in Six Flags because we strongly believe in the potential of the business and that numerous pathways exist to addressing the Company’s current undervaluation. I look forward to working with my fellow directors to continue the important work underway to ensure Six Flags builds on its legacy as the premier amusement park company in North America.”

In connection with Brudnick’s appointment to the Six Flags Board, the Company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Sachem Head, pursuant to which Sachem Head has agreed to a customary standstill, voting and confidentiality commitments, among other provisions. Details of the cooperation agreement will be filed on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yikes is right. PRKS has a bad quarter and reported today, and their stock is down something like 30%. 

When FUN reports similar tomorrow, I wonder how low the stock will plummet?

I mean, we are almost to 2020 levels, and there is no pandemic. 

No replacement named for Zimmerman, that is bad news.  Unless they announce tomorrow and have genius, hoping to offset the bad news. 

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Hoping we'll see some big news tomorrow that can offset any potential woes caused by the bad earnings call. This would indeed be a great time to announce the new CEO and/or make any other attraction announcements for 2026. Valleyfair's new waterpark theme and an America 250 adjacent event for the big parks could be a start.

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But hey attendance was up for Q3 despite less operating days than Q3 last year....but they attributed that to strong performance of a few parks that are on pace to deliver record or near-record results.  They can thank us and CP later LOL.

They know why October is down 11% but won't say....

They said their increase in marketing expenditures did not produce results...

Can't wait for the positive spin at 8am....

 

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3 minutes ago, Timchat2 said:

It would be really interesting to see what specific parks are "outperforming" and "underperforming". The presentation really focused on the differences between those two groupings.

Generally CF legacy doing well and legacy SF not so well LOL....like none of us saw that coming....

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1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

Generally CF legacy doing well and legacy SF not so well LOL....like none of us saw that coming....

So, basically a status quo to pre-merger ;)

I wasn’t really for it at the time, but in retrospect I think CF would have been better off accepting (with price negotiation) SeaWorld’s buy out offer a few years ago. I know “United Parks” (sorry, still hard for me to say that) has their own issues (as I’m acutely and personally aware), but those parks are still in a lot better shape financially than the legacy SF ones. Both are similarly sized chains and I don’t think either one would have negatively impacted the other as much as SF is negatively impacting CF.

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