Cedar Fair LP, an Ohio-based amusement park operator, is buying the Paramount Parks business from CBS Corp. for $1.24 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday.
CBS Corp. had been looking to sell the parks business, which didn't fit with its media holdings. CBS Corp., which split up with Viacom Inc. at the beginning of the year, owns the CBS network and a group of affiliated TV stations, a large radio business and an outdoor advertising company. Viacom, which owns MTV and VH1, kept the Paramount movie studio.
The five Paramount parks being sold to Cedar Fair are: Canada's Wonderland, near Toronto; Kings Island near Cincinnati; Kings Dominion near Richmond, Va.; Carowinds, near Charlotte, N.C.; and Great America located in Santa Clara, Calif.
Cedar Fair is a publicly traded partnership based in Sandusky, Ohio that operates seven amusement parks and five water parks, including Cedar Point, on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles; Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom near Allentown, Pa.; Valleyfair near Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota; Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Mo.; Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom near Cleveland; and Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon, Mich.
