SeaWorld Entertainment has offered to buy amusement park operator Cedar Fair for $3.4 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter. SeaWorld has made a bid of about $60 per share in cash, the source said, representing a premium of about 21% to Cedar Fair’s Monday close. Cedar Fair confirmed the offer in a statement, adding its board will review the proposal. SeaWorld declined to comment. Shares of Cedar Fair rose as much as 12.5% before being halted, while those of SeaWorld were up about 5%. The deal comes as the leisure and entertainment sector slowly gets back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hammered the industry for over a year. Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair has a market cap of about $2.83 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Cedar Fair rejected a takeover offer of $4 billion, or about $70 per share, from larger peer Six Flags Entertainment Corp in 2019, saying the bid was too low. Bloomberg first reported SeaWorld’s offer earlier on Tuesday.
