Simpson Thacher is representing CBS Corporation in the sale of Paramount Parks, its theme parks business, to Cedar Fair, L.P. Cedar Fair will pay approximately $1.24 billion in cash for Paramount Parks. The acquisition was announced on May 22, 2006. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to close during the third quarter.
Cedar Fair, a publicly traded partnership, owns and operates seven amusement parks and five water parks. The five Paramount Parks consist of Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Canada; King's Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; King's Dominion near Richmond, Virginia; Carowinds near Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America located in Santa Clara, California. On a combined basis, Paramount Parks and Cedar Fair generated almost $1 billion in revenues and entertained approximately 25 million guests in 2005.
The Simpson Thacher team includes John Finley, Elizabeth Cooper and Anthony Vernace (M&A), Dickson Brown, Noah Beck and Kurt Dudas (Tax), Joe Tringali (Antitrust), Ken Edgar, Aimee Adler and Carl Berry (Employee Benefits), Erik Quarfordt (Real Estate), Jay Ptashek and Matt O’Shea (Credit), Lori Lesser and Mark Solomon (IP) and Julie Levy and Jacqueline Rosenblum (Labor).