SeaWorld offer rejected by Cedar Fair

On Feb. 1, 2022, we reported that SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. had made a $3.4 billion offer to buy Ohio-based Cedar Fair and its 17 amusement parks. Today, we learned the SeaWorld offer was rejected by Cedar Fair.

In a short statement released by SeaWorld, the company simply said the following:

“In response to inquiries from various stakeholders, we confirm that our offer to acquire Cedar Fair was rejected. Unfortunately, we do not see a path to a transaction.”

This ends speculation by theme park fans across the country about the possibility that the SeaWorld offer would result in the company’s 13 Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, and Sesame Place parks joining Cedar Fair’s 26 properties – including Cedar Point, King’s Dominion, and Knott’s Berry Farm – to form the biggest amusement parks entity in North America. Still, Cedar Fair’s rejection of Six Flags Entertainment Corp.’s $4 billion bid in 2019 had nay-sayers predicting that SeaWorld’s offer would also be refused.

Time will tell if SeaWorld makes a counter-offer or if Six Flags decides to jump back into the bidding.

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