Losantiville Mining Co. Posted November 7 Share Posted November 7 They mentioned continued divestment from "non-core" parks and even closure for others, but how far can that realistically go before they hit an even lower rock bottom? Private equity has been ravaging United Parks so I don't really think they'd be doing much better right now if the purchase would've gone through. At what point could splitting/un-merging the company be a realistic option? I've said before that I think they should split into three companies in an effort to better weather the coming storm, but I hope it doesn't have to come to that so soon. I'm wondering more and more every day about how well smaller park companies would do right now. As of the most recent TEA attendance report I believe the SF parks in the top 20 were Knott's Berry Farm, Cedar Point, Kings Island, Magic Mountain, Canada's Wonderland, and Illinois' Great America. That would probably be a good place to start when wondering which parks might be in the top tier for Six Flags. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted November 7 Share Posted November 7 Here’s a piece I wrote for the Sandusky Register. It won’t win a Pulitzer but I think it captures the spirit of the thing. https://sanduskyregister.com/news/667144/cedar-point-parent-co-considering-park-sales/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted November 8 Author Share Posted November 8 19 hours ago, DonHelbig said: Here’s a piece I wrote for the Sandusky Register. It won’t win a Pulitzer but I think it captures the spirit of the thing. https://sanduskyregister.com/news/667144/cedar-point-parent-co-considering-park-sales/ Nice article, Don. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted November 10 Share Posted November 10 On 11/7/2025 at 4:05 PM, Losantiville Mining Co. said: Private equity has been ravaging United Parks so I don't really think they'd be doing much better right now if the purchase would've gone through. True, but my hope would have been that they would have spun off the new company (the combined SEA/FUN) into a new IPO that may have gotten Scott Ross & Hill Path to take the profits and exit. (I realize that may just be wishful thinking…) To be honest, I’m really surprised Hill Path didn’t cash out a long time ago—they bought most of their shares in the sub $20 price point and the stock now routinely (for a few years now) trades in the plus $50 range (and a few brief times in the +$60 range). I would have thought the fund investors would have wanted to take their profits and cash out a while ago. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted November 10 Share Posted November 10 They could make a dent in the debt load if they were able to offload 3-4 "non-core" parks in a package. It may take inclusion of a marquee "core" park to sweeten the deal and bump the price though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 They were mislead? I get that investors aren't necessarily park specialists, but anyone with any exposure to legacy Six Flags knows how they had deferred maintenance, underinvestment and slashed staffing to the bone leading up to the announcement of the merger. The more this shakes out, the more it smells. Meanwhile, the "architects" of the merger will collect their golden parachute. If the company survives, they can make their money after the stock rebounds after this great reset. If the company doesn't survive, as we know it, I hope these folks loose what equity they have built up in the stock. Lawsuit: Six Flags misled investors about park conditions before merger with Cedar Fair - cleveland.com https://share.google/gifvfcjHO2tGGeMCH 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Guy Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 To give you all an idea as to how poorly the company is doing right now... In 2006 Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion which equates to roughly $1.98 billion today. That was just 5 full parks plus 3 small properties. Today all of Six Flags 24 full parks plus water parks and small properties is worth just $1.66 billion per their market capitalization. They are really in the position to be taken over by someone or some group (private equity ) with deep pockets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReedObsessor Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 If it goes private, things will be even worse than legacy Six Flags could do. Wikipedia has a list of companies that went bankrupt under private equity ownership, and I know there's at least one example (Chuck E Cheese) missing from the list. If Six Flags is acquired by private equity, expect a lot more downgrades to the parks, and an even worse debt load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Guy Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 On 11/11/2025 at 12:51 PM, ReedObsessor said: If it goes private, things will be even worse than legacy Six Flags could do. We can't say will, since that would depend entirely on who the buyer is. A Six Flags acquired as an intact chain could end up being worse than legacy Six Flags ownership. If that does end up being the case you can know ahead of time that that ownership or the business itself will not last long at all if ran like that. It's barely lasting as it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 What could have been and maybe what should have been. https://themeparksbydon.com/cedar-fair-seaworld-merger-story/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 2 hours ago, KI Guy said: We can't say will, since that would depend entirely on who the buyer is. A Six Flags acquired as an intact chain could end up being worse than legacy Six Flags ownership. If that does end up being the case you can know ahead of time that that ownership or the business itself will not last long at all if ran like that. For now I think we can just hope that the efforts from the portfolio optimization and some good boosts from improvements to core parks will help Six Flags in the long run. If the chain does indeed get itself down to 15-ish good parks, I think that "Great Reset" that's was foretold with the merger could become reality. 1 hour ago, DonHelbig said: What could have been and maybe what should have been. https://themeparksbydon.com/cedar-fair-seaworld-merger-story/ Awesome article, Don! It's got me thinking of what could have been and who would've won out in terms of names and how the company would present itself. Right now I'm thinking the Cedar Fair name would be kept or a new name chosen entirely, but I can't figure out whose branding might've stuck. Much to ponder! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 1 hour ago, DonHelbig said: What could have been and maybe what should have been. https://themeparksbydon.com/cedar-fair-seaworld-merger-story/ I still have a bit of PTSD whenever I hear the word “Blackfish” I wonder if the talks with CF occurred when Jim Atchison was still CEO, or if this was something initiated after Joel Manby came in 2015? (If the release of Blackfish wasn’t public knowledge yet, I’m guessing it was under Atchison.) I’ve long maintained that if Blackfish would have happened when Busch Entertainment Corp owned the parks, the entire situation could have played out differently. Anheuser-Busch would have had the messaging and communication expertise to counteract the effects of the documentary (or, at least address it head on). After all, AB makes an addictive product that kills people and everyone still seems to love them… But the timing was such that it occurred right after the spin off, and the leadership at the time just didn’t have the expertise to address it. Not only that, but I fully believe that after years of being the “good guys” who loved and cared for animals, they just couldn’t believe that public perception about them could change. Of course, we know how that turned out… 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted November 14 Share Posted November 14 On 11/11/2025 at 9:55 AM, KI Guy said: To give you all an idea as to how poorly the company is doing right now... In 2006 Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion which equates to roughly $1.98 billion today. That was just 5 full parks plus 3 small properties. Today all of Six Flags 24 full parks plus water parks and small properties is worth just $1.66 billion per their market capitalization. They are really in the position to be taken over by someone or some group (private equity ) with deep pockets. And to think United Parks. (Formerly Seaworld) offered 3.4 billion to purchase Cedar Fair in 2022. 2 years prior to Cedar Fair announcing its intention to merge with Six Flags... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondbackFan Posted November 14 Share Posted November 14 We might get a new CEO announcement soon. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jana-partners-provides-six-flags-131500178.html "NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- JANA Partners LLC ("JANA"), which along with its partners collectively own an economic interest of approximately 9% in Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) ("Six Flags" or the "Company"), today announced that Dave Habiger has de-grouped from the JANA-led investor group to enable him to pursue a complementary opportunity involving the Company." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted November 14 Share Posted November 14 20 minutes ago, DiamondbackFan said: We might get a new CEO announcement soon. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jana-partners-provides-six-flags-131500178.html "NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- JANA Partners LLC ("JANA"), which along with its partners collectively own an economic interest of approximately 9% in Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) ("Six Flags" or the "Company"), today announced that Dave Habiger has de-grouped from the JANA-led investor group to enable him to pursue a complementary opportunity involving the Company." I can see a seat on the board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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