Six Flags plans to sell $1 billion in unsecured senior notes to refinance debt due in April 2027. The Charlotte-based amusement park operator will use the proceeds, along with cash on hand, to pay off notes that have stated yields of 5.375% and 5.5%, according to an SEC filing Tuesday.
The new senior notes come due in 2032. They take precedence over other debts in the case of financial trouble, including bankruptcy. Because they offer less risk, they often come with lower interest rates.
The former Cedar Fair, which owned Carowinds in Charlotte, completed a merger with the larger Arlington, Texas-based Six Flags in July 2024, and moved the company headquarters to Charlotte. Cedar Fair had been based in Sandusky, Ohio. The combined companies are North America’s largest regional amusement park operator with 26 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 16 states, Canada and Mexico. The company also manages an amusement park in Saudi Arabia that opened Dec. 31 and is backed by that county’s public investment fund.
Six Flags shares are down about 70% over the last year. Shares traded around $15.10 midday Tuesday, up 3%. Six Flags has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion.
New York-based activist fund, Jana Partners, teamed with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who’s engaged to Taylor Swift, to take an approximate 9% stake in the company last year. Theme park veteran John Reilly became CEO of Six Flags in December.