BREAKING: Charlotte gains theme park company HQ
Carowinds' parent company, Cedar Fair, is merging with Six Flags and moving operations here
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Merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags yields new corporate HQ for Charlotte; $3.4B company
by Tony Mecia
Charlotte is gaining another corporate headquarters — and one that will be one of the largest amusement park operators in the United States.
Carowinds’ parent company, Ohio-based Cedar Fair, announced this morning that it is merging with Texas-based Six Flags and moving the headquarters of the combined company to Charlotte.
The combined company will have 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it said.
The new company would have $3.4B in combined revenue and be called “Six Flags.” It would be a publicly traded company, and its stock ticker symbol would be “FUN.” The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that a deal seemed imminent.
The Ledger reported in 2021 that Cedar Fair was shifting much of its operations to Charlotte. It’s unclear how many workers are based here or would be based here.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has reported that the company’s CEO, Richard Zimmerman, has his office in Charlotte and noted with alarm in 2021 that “a number of corporate departments and employees have relocated to Charlotte, where the company maintains a growing presence.” Zimmerman would remain CEO of the combined company.
In Charlotte, the company’s corporate offices are based in a large cabana at the Carolina Harbor waterpark. Just kidding — they’re actually in the Oak Hill Business Park off Arrowood Road by I-77.
A Cedar Fair predecessor was based in Charlotte. Cedar Fair bought Carowinds in 2006 as part of its acquisition of Paramount Parks, which was based here.
Cedar Fair’s other theme parks include Knott’s Berry Farm outside Los Angeles; California’s Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.; Kings Dominion outside Richmond, Va.; and Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
Six Flags has two parks in Atlanta and one in Maryland, among other sites.
Related Ledger article:
“Is Charlotte getting a theme park headquarters?” (June 28, 2021)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks
The late Pat Hall, visionary founder of the industrial park and Carowinds, would surely be pleased. His office was in that area in a railroad car where most days at lunchtime he, and sometimes a guest or two, would have a bloody Mary. Pat always wore a white necktie and a tie bar engraved with the letters YCDBSOYA: You Can't Do Business Sitting On Your Ass.
I like the Ledger a lot. Keep up the good work.
Cheers.
Jerry Shinn