The long-awaited merger of amusement park giant Six Flags and Cedar Fair, owner of Schlitterbahn water parks, is set to close on July 1.
Once the merger is complete, 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. Six Flags’ Arlington headquarters will be closed as the company relocates to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Cedar Fair and Six Flags had previously called this a “merger of equals,” but Cedar Fair shareholders would have a slight advantage over Six Flags shareholders, with Cedar Fair shareholders getting 51.2% of the new company’s shares and Six Flags shareholders getting 48.8%.
The combined company will be majority led by Cedar Fair executives, with Cedar Fair president and CEO Richard Zimmerman continuing in his role. Six Flags president and CEO Selim Basor will serve as chairman of the combined company’s board of directors.
“We are fortunate to have a proven leadership team with decades of park operating experience and extensive expertise in integrating businesses and achieving synergy objectives for the combined company,” Zimmerman said in a statement. “Their insight and complementary skill sets will be instrumental as we bring together two of North America’s leading amusement park companies and build a new future together.”
Six Flags Over Texas has been in Arlington since 1961, but the company recently moved its headquarters to 1000 Ballpark Way, the site of the former Texas Rangers ballpark, Globe Life Park, in 2020. Prior to that, Six Flags’ headquarters had been in Grand Prairie since 2010.
The merger will help the companies compete with some of their biggest national rivals, including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, which plans to open a $150 million, 718,000-square-foot children’s resort in Frisco by 2026.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair Parks together draw approximately 50 million visitors annually, while Disney and Universal, which only own and operate nine amusement and water parks, draw more than 80 million visitors combined.
