Cedar fair to be sold?

[pitchnoir]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apollo Management LP is expected to acquire Cedar Fair for about $700 million.

The deal would also include the assumption of $1.6 billion of debt, said people familiar with the matter.

Based in Sandusky, Cedar Fair owns 11 theme parks in the United States and Canada, including Cedar Point and Kings Island.

Barring last-minute snags, the deal by the buyout firm is likely to be announced in the coming days, these people said.

Cedar Fair's revenue over the 12 months ended in September totaled about $930 million, down 6.3 percent from the similar 2008 period.

Cedar Fair has been scrambling to address a number of coming debt obligations, said two of the people familiar with the matter. In March it hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to relieve its debt load. At the same time, it said it might sell two of its theme parks.

According to Google Finance, the amusement park company's stock rose 29.63 percent in after-hours trading to $9.10 per limited partner unit. Apollo Managment LP is a division of Apollo Investment Corp., which announced the closing of its public offering of common stock on Dec. 15.

Here's the actual article from WSJ if anyone has a subscription:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004574600443362702668.html

and all found at: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=837222#837222

 

[rollermonkey]

No question mark here.

Pending only a shareholder vote and required antitrust/monopoly regulations checks...

It's a done deal.

Shareholders get $11.50 a share, and the company goes private under the new owners.

This was a total shocker, as there weren't even any rumors floating around.

I'm going to miss those quarterly dividend checks, though!

 

[marc]

Here is a bit more news.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-k ... 9530.story

I am a bit shocked not many people are talking about this tbh.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Wait, what?!

Whoa. Hopefully it's a good thing for the company, I hope it doesn't change for the worse!

 

[ECG]

It can get worse? :shock:

 

[Sax Man]

As mentioned above, I am really surprised that this isn't getting much attention.

Looking at the company, I am not to sure what to think. When they have bought anything ranging from Harrah's Entertainment to Linen's and Things. They also have a cruiseline under their belt as well. Its a really weird mix.

It does look like the company has turned things around for other hurting companies, maybe this is a good thing for Cedar Fair.

 

[Snoo]

I look for nothing but good to happen from this. I just wonder how the parks will fair in the coming years as the company are run by people who aren't part of the 'brand' persay.

 

[Hyde]

This is a good thing. Apollo is absorbing all of Cedar Fair's debt (primarily from the Paramont Parks acquisition), making the company private to not worry about pressure from investors, and leaves Cedar Fair executives in charge of the chain.

Only time will tell if there are any drastic changes. Screamscape is quick to jump at some bad blips on Apollo's radar of acquired companies. Meanwhile, other groups under Apollo, such as AMC Theaters, Claire's, and a number of Cruiselines have remained prosperous.

Apollo's business model seems to focus on successful companies that are able to turn a profit, providing a financial safety net, such as absorbing Cedar Fair's debt.

Cedar Fair comes out of this deal debt free, which has been the biggest concern of the chain. Outside of the debt, Cedar Fair has been able to perform. As long as the park chain maintains that performance, there isn't any real cause for concern.