Amusement park giant Six Flags and Schlitterbahn Waterparks owner Cedar Fair’s long-awaited merger is slated to close on July 1.
When the merger closes, the new combined company will operate under the Six Flags name, be valued at approximately $8 billion, and own and operate more than 40 amusement and water parks. It will also spell the end of Six Flags Arlington headquarters as the company will move to Charlotte, N.C.
Cedar Fair and Six Flags have previously called it a “merger of equals.” But Cedar Fair shareholders will slightly win out over Six Flags shareholders with owners of Cedar Fair equity gaining 51.2% of the new company while Six Flags shareholders would get 48.8%.
The new combined company will also be majority-led by Cedar Fair executives as Richard Zimmerman, president and CEO of Cedar Fair, will keep his role. It moves Selim Bassoul, Six Flags’ president and CEO, to the executive chairman of the new company’s board of directors.
“We are fortunate to have a proven team of leaders who bring decades of park operating experience and significant expertise in integrating businesses and achieving synergy targets for the combined company,” Zimmerman said in a statement. “Their insights and complementary skill sets will be instrumental as we combine two of North America’s iconic amusement park companies and forge a new future together.”
Though Six Flags Over Texas has been in Arlington since 1961, the company recently moved its headquarters in 2020 to 1000 Ballpark Way, the site of the Texas Rangers’ former stadium, Globe Life Park. Before that, Six Flags’ headquarters were located in Grand Prairie since 2010.
With the merger, both companies are looking to compete with the nation’s biggest competitors like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, which is set to open its $150 million, 718,000 square feet children-themed resort in Frisco by 2026.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks draw approximately over 50 million combined guests every year. Meanwhile, Disney and Universal, which only own and operate 9 amusement and water parks, reel in over 80 million combined guests.
