Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sixflags11nov11" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/busines s/la-fi-sixflags11nov11</a>,1,5859222.story?coll=la-headlines-business >>Buyout firm MidOcean Partners, theme park operator Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. and CNL Financial Group were among the bidders for all or some of the six parks put up for sale, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people who had been briefed on the bidding. Of the three bidders, CNL was the only one to offer more than $650 million for the parks, the sources said. The company needs to net more than $800 million from the sale to make its debt load manageable, according to industry analysts. The nation's second-largest theme park operator announced in June that it intended to sell some of its parks to other companies or real estate developers. Some Valencia residents and businesspeople, including the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, had feared that Magic Mountain would be sold to developers and dismantled. The chamber has said the amusement park helps the area's economic development. At least one of the suitors — Atlanta-based Herschend — did not include Magic Mountain in its bid. "We continue to do research on the selected Six Flags properties. Magic Mountain is not specifically involved in our negotiations," said Lisa Rau, spokeswoman for Herschend. The company operates 17 properties in seven states, including Dolly Parton's Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Herschend's exclusion of the roller-coaster-intensive park is likely to hurt its bid because Six Flags seems intent on selling the six properties as a group, said David Miller, an analyst at Sanders Morris Harris in Los Angeles. Miller said he expected the six parks and an additional property in Oklahoma City to sell for $750 million to $850 million. Miller said it was also unlikely that Magic Mountain, which draws 2.5 million to 3 million visitors a year, would be sold to real estate developers because of regulatory and environmental hurdles. "The park will stay open," he said. "The last thing the company wants is a sale of real estate under the park."<<
Originally Posted By mrichmondj <<< Miller said it was also unlikely that Magic Mountain, which draws 2.5 million to 3 million visitors a year, would be sold to real estate developers because of regulatory and environmental hurdles. >>> More unlikely considering that the real estate market has tanked, and property values are in freefall across the country right now. Real estate developers across the country are giving up option on land right now, and trying to scale back development plans in light of what will likely be a lengthy downturn in real estate. As a business, Six Flags has too much debt and too little cash flow to interest very many investors. It's just not a good business to be in, particularly when there is a nasty recession lurking around the corner in 2007.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-sixflags11_106nov11" target="_blank">http://www.orlandosentinel.com /business/custom/tourism/orl-sixflags11_106nov11</a>,0,7792208.story?coll=orl-business-headlines-tourism >>Ady Milman, a professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida, said Friday that it's not surprising that CNL, which owns hotels through its hospitality real-estate investment trust, might have an interest in acquiring some of Six Flags' parks. Milman, who is on sabbatical in Israel, said in an e-mail that the possible CNL bid "is certainly an affirmation that the theme park and attraction industry has become [an] important component of the hospitality industry and many companies, not directly related to the entertainment industry, consider investing in this segment." But Milman said the struggling Six Flags chain "needs to create a cohesive operating philosophy across all parks to maintain its brand successfully." He said that's a challenge because the company has built its collection of parks by buying, in recent years, separate parks with "different attractions, rides, shows and operating management."<<
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <particularly when there is a nasty recession lurking around the corner in 2007.> I don't like the sounds of that...
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Me either . . . hopefully the economists that are saying it is already here are wrong.
