Six Flags sells 7 parks for $312 million: SFMM and HH not included in sale.

What is SFDK?? Is that Six Flags Donkey Kong?
Seriously, I'm not in-the-know on that abbreviation for the park, and will probably hit my head once I find out what it really is.

I still think its putting a band aid on the overal problem. Even with the sales they only paid 300 million on a two billion debt.

IMHO it's a stock holder and creditors ploy to keep them happy.

Also IMHO I don't think the whole company is worth two billion.

It will be interesting to see if SF has anything left when they are done shedding

Chuck, Wow Shapiro, Your not even a quarter of the way there.

^^ SFMW is being renamed SF Discovery Kingdom for 2007, with supposibly some new additions and retheming of some areas/existing rides.

*** Edited 1/11/2007 5:14:37 PM UTC by jomo***

SFDK = Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, near San Fran.

Even if it is a band aid, I think it's a step in the right direction. Downsizing their portfolio of parks should ease the strain on their resources to turn the other parks around. I'd guess some of the "good" management at the sold parks will transfer elsewhere in the chain. Any profit made from the sold parks in 2006 can be used for the other parks this year. :)

No sell was going to seriously reduce their debt, short of selling the entire company, these parks still need to generate revenue, and that's been the challenge all along.

Of course it doesn't solve the problem, nothing is that easy. They have however, dropped some dead weight (no offense to those parks).

Well, I go back again to the 1990s as I was sitting in my office at the Point and reading the news of Premier buying up one park after another.

I don't know much about banking and finance...I'll admit...yet I was absolutely certain this was doomed from the beginning. How those yahoos got all of the backers to jump on their ship is beyond me. They were all boarding the Titanic.

It is a shame.

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Acoustic Viscosity said: I'd guess some of the "good" management at the sold parks will transfer elsewhere in the chain.

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Hmmmm, Frontier City, SFEG, SFDL..."good" management? You MUST have had different experiences at those parks than I did...LOL! ;)

I stand by my assertion that these parks COULD have done OK if they HAD had good management...they didn't. SFMM still doesn't... ;~o

Heres their side of the story:

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070111005442&newsLang=en

Heres another article from the Denver Post:

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4992497 *** Edited 1/11/2007 6:08:12 PM UTC by Ajrides***

I think this is good news for all involved. The major parks that SF got rid of were the ones that were underperforming, run poorly, and therefore neglected by corporate. I'm saying this with SFDL being my home park, so trust me, I am very happy with this sale. Hopefully it will allow SF to get out of a little bit of it's debt and the sold parks will thrive under new management.

I don't understand one thing...RCT249 says that San Antonio is a larger tourist market than the Buffalo area, but Buffalo is located just 20 minutes from Niagara Falls, which draws over 12 million visitors a year on it's own. Most of those are families, who spend money. I honeslty have never been to San Antonio, but do they get over 12 million tourisits a year?? I just hope that this new owner sees that potential that SF did not and capatalizes on it. All they need to do is advertise a little better and I bet the tourists will flock there. They sure flock up to Toronto for Canada's Wonderland!!

I don't think Elitch's was sold because it was a poor performer. That park was a cash cow for the chain and profitable. I think a lot of people think small park = crappy park. I'd say that in the scope of Six Flags theme parks that would be true. When people think "Six Flags" they think huge monster parks with lots of rides and entertainment. Elitch's is too small to ever live up to the Six Flags title.

Elitch's is an awesome smaller park. I think it would be received better as Elitch Gardens and not Six Flags Elitch Gardens. It never was supposed to be a big theme park. It was supposed to be a small park that could grow into sixty acres.

IMHO SFDL would be a prime candiate for CF. It's got a resort and campground and they could build on that.

The couldn't ruin the asthetics, There isn't any Other than the lake with Preditor reflecting in it :)

Oh. It's THOSE guys.

http://www.parcmanagement.com/corporate.htm

If you're wondering what happened to Ogden Entertainment/Alfa Smartparks, wonder no more. I wonder if this is the next Premier Parks in the making...!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Please clue me in on Ogden Entertainment's past...and did they really run the "safest parks?"

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SK610 said:I don't understand one thing...RCT249 says that San Antonio is a larger tourist market than the Buffalo area, but Buffalo is located just 20 minutes from Niagara Falls, which draws over 12 million visitors a year on it's own. Most of those are families, who spend money. I honeslty have never been to San Antonio, but do they get over 12 million tourisits a year?? I just hope that this new owner sees that potential that SF did not and capatalizes on it. All they need to do is advertise a little better and I bet the tourists will flock there. They sure flock up to Toronto for Canada's Wonderland!!

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According to Wikipedia, San Antonio averages around 20 million tourists per year. It is actually a pretty popular tourist spot with Sea World, The Alamo, and lots of Hispanic/Texan culture.

Good point with Niagra Falls though. I did forget that it was that close.

^You forgot Schlitterbahn is there nearby as well. (Near San Antonio)

*** Edited 1/12/2007 1:12:17 PM UTC by Swoosh***

Alfa Smart Parks is the company who used to own Jazzland (SFNO), Sliver Springs (Sliver Springs, FL), Enchanted Castle (Lombard, IL), Castle Amusment Park (Riverside, CA), 7 Wet n' Wild Water parks, As well as the two Raging Waters Parks in CA, and Wild Waters, in Sliver Springs, FL

Didn't they file bankruptcy and forced to liquidate? If so, the future might not be so bright for this group of parks.

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RideMan said:
If you're wondering what happened to Ogden Entertainment/Alfa Smartparks, wonder no more. I wonder if this is the next Premier Parks in the making...!

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How ironic would that be if this was the next Premier Parks in the making? Just think, the three major parks that gave Premier the cash to buy the SF chain was DL, EG, and GL....all parks that SF has since sold off, possibly now to give another park management group the power to buy larger parks and maybee even a large park chain. Maybee SFDL and SFEG will rise again!!

Honestly, as I have stated before, I think this is the best thing for all of the parks. Hopefully the new owner will add new attractions and realize the potential of all of the new parks. And hopefully SF will turn some of their parks around and make them into what they want in the future also. It can only be a good thing for the industry

Don't forget about Riverwalk in San Antonio as well. It's similar in nature to Baltimore's Harborplace with a lot of the same properties (Hard Rock Cafe etc.), and appeared to be a huge tourist magnet the night we visited. The canal boat tours they give are pretty cool too.

312 million. Does this mean they're going to buy 12.48 Kingda Ka's?
;)