Will the Point buy the Island?

Saturday, 20 May 2006

Kings Island owner on the block, and Cedar Point's parent company is among those thinking about buying.

By BRANDI BARHITE
brandibarhite@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - Cedar Fair is looking into purchasing Paramount Parks, which includes competitor Kings Island.

"We look at everything," Stacy Frole, director of investor relations, said Friday. "The Paramount Parks are for sale and, yes, we look at them. We feel we have a financial obligation to look at any and all opportunities."

Similar to the way Cedar Fair looked into purchasing Six Flags Inc., the partnership requested Paramount's detailed financial information, Frole said. She wasn't aware of an asking price and declined additional comment.

CBS Corp. owns Paramount Parks, which includes five parks. Among them is Paramount's Kings Island, near Cincinnati.

Kings Island had more than 3 million guests in 2005. Cedar Fair's Cedar Point had 3.1 million guests, down from 3.2 million in 2004.

A CBS press release from January stated "numerous parties have already expressed interest in acquiring the operation, and CBS Corporation expects to complete the divestiture in the second half of 2006."

Paramount Parks had more than 12 million visitors in 2005, according to the release. Paramount Parks division also developed and manages Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, Calif., and CBS Television City at the MGM Grant Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Cedar Fair, which owns and operates seven amusement parks and five water parks, had a combined attendance at its 12 parks of 12.7 million guests in 2005.

Cedar Fair's last acquisition was in 2004 when it bought the Six Flags park in Aurora, Ohio, that was competing against Sandusky's Cedar Point. Since then, Cedar Fair converted Six Flags Worlds of Adventure into Geauga Lake.

In other partnership news, some stockholders are disappointed Cedar Fair has changed a perk. The perk of two-for-one admission at Cedar Fair properties for stockholders is now a one-night stay at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay and get a night's stay for free, she said.

"Castaway Bay was our newest property and it was an opportunity for investors to come up and see what was invested in," Frole said.

Also, the previous perk was started four or five years ago when the partnership had fewer parks, Frole said. Cedar Fair also has new discounts for admissions and food, she said.

Kings Island & Co.

Paramount Parks, a unit of CBS Corp., owns five theme or amusement parks:

-- Paramount Canada's Wonderland, Toronto, Ontario;

-- Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, N.C.;

-- Paramount's Great America, Santa Clara, Calif.;

-- Paramount's Kings Dominion, Richmond, Va.;

-- Paramount's Kings Island, Cincinnati.

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