| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: FUN |
| Industry | Amusement Parks |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Headquarters | Sandusky, Ohio, United States |
| Number of locations | 18 |
| Area served | United States Canada |
| Key people | Matt Ouimet, CEO |
| Revenue | $977.6 million (net) US (2010) |
| Operating income | $185.5 million USD (2009) |
| Net income | -$31.6 million US (2010) |
| Employees | 2,500+ (2007) (excluding seasonal) |
| Website | www.cedarfair.com |
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, legally known as Cedar Fair, L.P.,(NYSE: FUN) is a publicly traded partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks and seven water parks across North America. Cedar Fair also manages Gilroy Gardens under contract with the city of Gilroy, California.[1]
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Cedar Fair was formed in 1978 from an operating partnership between Cedar Point and Valleyfair. The name Cedar Fair is derived from the names of both parks. The company has expanded the number of parks to seventeen which includes amusement parks as well as indoor and outdoor water parks. The biggest acquisitions came recently starting with Geauga Lake for $145 million in 2004[2] followed by Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion in 2006.[3] On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that beginning in 2008, Geauga Lake would operate solely as a water park permanently closing its amusement park and transferring several rides to other Cedar Fair parks.[4]
In December 2009 it was announced that Apollo Global Management would offer Cedar Fair $11.50[5] per share, a 28 percent premium over the market price, as part of a takeover plan which would also make Cedar Fair a private company.[6] The deal included a cash payment of $635 million in addition to assuming Cedar Fair's debt of over $1.7 billion putting the total value of the transaction close to $2.4 billion. Cedar Fair planned to hold a shareholder meeting on March 16, 2010 to vote on the transaction but postponed the meeting to April 8, 2010 implying that two-thirds of the shareholder vote needed for approval wasn't yet secured.[7] On April 6, 2010, the deal was terminated, and Cedar Fair paid $6.5 million to reimburse Apollo for expenses incurred from the proposed transaction.[5] Cedar Fair also adopted a unitholder rights plan as a preventative measure to help protect unitholders in the event of any future hostile takeover.[8]
On September 16, 2011, JMA Ventures, LLC entered into an agreement to purchase California's Great America from Cedar Fair and take ownership of the Gilroy Gardens management contract.[9] The agreement required approval of Santa Clara's city council which was scheduled to vote on the matter on December 6, 2011. However, JMA cancelled its plans to purchase Great America and bowed out of the agreement.[10]
Cedar Fair operates four amusement parks that attract over 3 million visitors a year: Canada's Wonderland, Knott's Berry Farm, Kings Island, and Cedar Point.[12]
Cedar Fair's most visited park is Canada's Wonderland, boasting the highest attendance of any seasonal park in North America.
Cedar Fair parks have earned 15 major Golden Ticket Awards for roller coasters and amusement park operation from Amusement Today, a trade newspaper which ranks amusement parks and roller coasters.[13] In addition, the readers of Amusement Today have voted Cedar Point as The Best Amusement Park In The World for 14 consecutive years.
The Maverick steel coaster at Cedar Point received the "Best New Ride of 2007 - Amusement Park" title from "Amusement Today" when it debuted in 2007.
The Prowler wooden roller coaster at Worlds of Fun received the Best New Ride of 2009 - Amusement Park title from Amusement Today when it debuted in 2009.[14]
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