"Cedar Fair Sale in Works"

[Mike13]

From the Sandusky Register:

 

Cedar Fair sale in works

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 7:21 PM EST

SANDUSKY

 

_{Register file photo/KRISTIN HEINICHEN}

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon gives Cedar Point CEO Dick Kinzel his speed-demon seal of approval after riding the Millennium Force at the park this summer.

 

 

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 Management LP is a division of Apollo Investment Corp., which announced the closing of its public offering of common stock on Dec. 15.

I've never heard of Apollo Management before but maybe now there parks will get some much needed theming with their rides, but I don't know... Apollo is going to take on a very large amount of debt, not sure if they can handle it unless there a big company like Blackstone.

 

edit: Thank you to whoever fixed this topic,I suck at making topics =/

Edited December 17, 2009 by Mike13

[GAcoaster]

I was just saying expect to see some changes in the industry...this could get interesting.