California Great America is SOLD to JMA

[jimmy gimbels]

On September 19, Cedar Fair announced an agreement to sell its California Great America Amusement Park to JMA Ventures for $70 milliion in cash. That sounds like a pretty good deal considering the price of land in the area and the fact the Six Flags said it would cost more than $300 to build an amusement park these days. The transaction is subject to the approval by the City of Santa Clara.

I'm told that Cedar fair already removed some of the assets (the newer roller coasters) before the deal closed.

JMA Venutres is a California-based real estate investment firm.

I hope they change the name to JMA Great America. California Great America always sounded kind of strange to me.

[NotBill]

I would be careful about getting excited about this Jimmy. That park is in Silicon Valley and if a real estate firm bought it their plan may be to remove the park and redevelop the land.

[RLAiello]

I just read on the CGA Wikipedia page that the JMA deal was cancelled, and that Cedar Fair entered into an agreement with the 49ers to build their stadium near the park. Does anyone have more information on this, or can anyone confirm if this is true?

Here's a copy-and-paste from Wiki:

December 6, 2011, JMA Ventures cancelled its plans to purchase the amusement park.[7] Also in the same announcement, Cedar Fair verified that a long-term agreement was reached with the San Francisco 49ers regarding parking and construction of a new stadium adjacent to Great America.[8][9]

[Angry_Gumball]

^Back in December (12/6/11) JMA did back out of the deal and CF agreed to be CGA's long term owner. CF is also willing to work with the 49er stadium project rather than raise a stink (probably because Mr. Kinzel is no longer running the show...he's the one who wanted to rid CGA off their hands to begin with but the new CEO I believe thinks/feels different.)

http://cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm

CEDAR FAIR TO RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF ITS CALIFORNIA'S GREAT AMERICA PARK

Valuable property expected to remain strong performer for Cedar Fair going forward
Company reaches agreement with the San Francisco 49ers on parking and construction issues
Expects to achieve high end of its annual distribution target of $1.35 to $1.65 per unit in 2012, and $2.00 or more in 2013

SANDUSKY, OHIO, December 6, 2011 –Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment announced today that JMA Ventures, LLC (“JMA”) has elected to not move forward with their purchase of California’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California. As a result of JMA’s actions, the definitive purchase agreement governing this transaction, originally agreed on September 16, 2011, has been terminated.
“We respect JMA’s decision and are pleased to return to the long-term ownership of this exceptional property,” said Matt Ouimet, Cedar Fair’s president. “As we stated at the time the agreement was made, this is a quality park that has terrific employees and serves a strong market. We look forward to continuing to take advantage of the synergies which are uniquely available to us as a result of operating this park as part of our larger portfolio of properties.”
According to Ouimet, the termination of this sale does not alter the Company’s expectations of achieving record adjusted EBITDA between $365 million and $375 million in 2011. “In fact, we expect to be at the higher end of our original distribution guidance of $1.35 to $1.65 per limited partner unit in 2012,” he said. “With continued growth in our annual distribution rates and additional debt reduction through our improved operating performance, we believe Cedar Fair will maintain its position as one of the most attractive growth and yield stories in the leisure and hospitality industry.”
The Company also announced that it has reached a long-term agreement with the San Francisco 49ers related to the construction of the stadium and parking for NFL and other stadium-related events for the life of the new stadium. The agreement is still subject to the execution of a definitive agreement and the approval of the Stadium Authority and related approvals from the City of Santa Clara.
“The combination of an NFL stadium and a premier amusement park in one location offers tremendous and exciting opportunities for family entertainment. We are excited to reach an agreement on construction issues and parking that are important to the stadium project,” said Jed York, president and chief executive officer of the San Francisco 49ers.
“This arrangement leads the way to a mutually beneficial relationship between Cedar Fair, the 49ers and the City of Santa Clara,” added Ouimet. “California’s Great America was a strong performer in 2011 and we are confident this will continue into the future as we build the park’s customer base through new marketing initiatives and capital investments.”
About Cedar Fair “Cedar Fair is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio, and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in California under a management contract. Cedar Fair’s flagship park, Cedar Point, has been consistently voted the “Best Amusement Park in the World” in a prestigious annual poll conducted by Amusement Today newspaper.

So yea, this a bit 'old news' now but still good news nonetheless.