Owner of Cedar Point to buy five more amusement parks

5/22/2006

SANDUSKY Cedar Fair LP, which owns Cedar Point and six other amusement and five water parks nationwide, said today it is buying Paramount Parks from CBS Corp. in a cash purchase of $1.24 billion.

The acquisition will make Cedar Fair, based in Sandusky, one of the nation s largest amusement park operators and will give the company its first non-U.S. park.

The northwest Ohio firm, under the transaction, will pick up Canada s Wonderland, near Toronto; Kings Island, near Cincinnati; Kings Dominion near Richmond, Va.; Carowinds, near Charlotte, N.C.; and Great America located in Santa Clara, Calif.

Cedar Fair already owns Cedar Point, in Sandusky; Knott s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.; Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom near Allentown, Pa.; Valleyfair near Minneapolis; Worlds of Fund in Kansas City, Mo.; Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora, Ohio; and Michigan s Adventure near Muskegon, Mich.

It also has water parks near San Diego and Palm Springs, Calif. and adjacent to its amusement parks of Cedar Point, Knott s Berry Farm, and Worlds of Fun.

Last year, Cedar Fair reported a profit of $161 million on revenues of $569 million, with 12.7 million customers. Paramount Parks had revenues of $423 million, with 12.2 million customers.

CBS Corp. had been looking to sell its parks business, which didn t fit with its media holdings.

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