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.
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