Cedar Fair Acquires Paramount Parks

On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair LP of Sandusky, Ohio, which owns and operates seven amusement parks and five water parks, acquired Paramount Parks Inc. from CBS Corporation for US$1.24 billion. The five Paramount Parks acquired by Cedar Fair LP through this transaction are Canada's Wonderland, near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island, near Cincinnati, Ohio; Kings Dominion, near Richmond, Virginia; Carowinds, near Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America, in Santa Clara, California.
In the US, Cedar Fair was advised by Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP with a team that included Gordon Kaiser, Cipriano Beredo, Michele Connell, Leah Brownlee, Osborne Mills, Jeffrey Margulies, Patrick Burke, Sean Coyle, Raquel James and Francesca Crisera (corporate), Geoffrey Barnes and Allen Kacenjar (environmental), Carl Draucker (employee benefits), Laura Nemeth, Bradley Dock, Afif Ghannoum and Shubham Arora (real estate), Susan Hastings, Jill Kirila and Lori Zancourides (labour and employment), Steven Mount, Mitchell Thompson, Terrence Perris and Michael Cullers (taxation), Christopher Gordon (economic regulation) and Edward Geltman (antitrust).
Cedar Fair was represented in Canada by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP with a team that included Douglas Scott, Scott Mitchell and Kathleen Yoa (corporate), Jon Holmstrom and John Torrey (banking), William Bies (taxation), Richard Johnston (pensions and benefits), Ralph Nero (labour and employment), Rosalind Cooper (environmental), Paul King (real estate), May Cheng and Elizabeth Gouthro (IP) and Huy Do and Aaron Stefan (competition). Nova Scotia advice was provided by Barry Horne, Jeffrey Blucher and Jennifer Glennie of McInnes Cooper.
In the US, CBS was advised in-house by Laurie Franco and Darin Bassin, and by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, with a team that included John Finley, Dan Clivner, Elizabeth Cooper and Anthony Vernace (M&A), Dickson Brown, Noah Beck and Kurt Dudas (tax), Joe Tringali (antitrust), Ken Edgar, Aimee Adler and Carl Berry (employee benefits), Erik Quarfordt (real estate), Jay Ptashek and Matt O'Shea (credit), Lori Lesser and Mark Solomon (IP) and Julie Levy and Jacqueline Rosenblum (labour).
CBS was represented in Canada on corporate matters by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP with a team that included Peter Franklyn and Kevin Ackhurst (competition), Steve Sigurdson, David Pathe and Mark Hogan (corporate) and Paul Litner and Terra Klinck (pensions and benefits); and on tax matters by Jeff Trossman and Allan Gelkopf of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Nova Scotia advice was provided by Charles Reagh of Stewart McKelvey.
Bear Stearns Corporate Lending Inc. acted as administrative agent for a syndicate of lenders providing financing to Cedar Fair for this acquisition. Bear Stearns Corporate Lending was represented in Canada by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP with a team led by Ken Atlas that included Howard Silverman and Larissa Tkachenko (tax), Alan Sless (real estate), Will Wallace and Natasha Miklaucic (tax); and in the US by Latham & Watkins LLP with a team led by Michèle Penzer that included Matthew Henegar, David Sajous, Nathan Ajiashvili and Richard Chadakoff (real estate), Stephanie Quaranta (real estate) and William Lu (tax).