Connect with us

International

Disney and Universal Studios now have a huge new theme park rival

The merger of two giant amusement park operators will create a single $8 billion rival company to Disney and Universal Studios.

Published

4 months ago

on

Walt Disney Co. DIS and Comcast's CMCSA Universal Studios' theme parks are constantly expanding their facilities with new rides, attractions and lands, and even opening new parks, in a battle to attract the most guests and revenue.

Universal has the biggest project underway with its Epic Universe theme park, a third gate at Universal Orlando Resort that is set for opening in the first half of 2025. Universal has said that Epic Universe is developing themed lands, including Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, Universal Classic Monsters and How to Train Your Dragon.

Related: Universal Studios follows Disney World in raising prices

Universal Studios Hollywood in February 2023 opened its new Super Nintendo World land with the popular ride Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge and the Toadstool Cafe restaurant.

New land and rides coming to Disney parks

Disney World is planning a new land for its Animal Kingdom as it will close DinoLand U.S.A. and bring in The Tropical Americas land that will include attractions in the "Encanto" and Indiana Jones themes.

Splash Mountain at Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando closed on Jan. 23, 2023, while the same ride closed May 31, 2023, at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Both rides will be rethemed as Tiana's Bayou Adventure and reopen in 2024.

The Disney and Universal Studios theme parks' rivalry just got more interesting as Six Flags Entertainment SIX and Cedar Fair FUN on Nov. 2 entered into a merger agreement that would create a single, combined $8 billion amusement park company comprised of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states, Canada and Mexico.

Wonder Woman Flight of Courage at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif.

Six Flags

Merger may increase value of combined company

The merger is expected to increase the value of the combined company by about $200 million in three years after the deal closes from administrative and operational cost savings and increased revenue.

Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which license the intellectual property of Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts, believe they have minimal market overlap of park operations. The new company will seek to create a more engaging and immersive guest experience and will offer expanded park access to season pass holders, along with an enhanced, combined loyalty program featuring additional perks, the statement said.

It will be interesting to see what new attractions and events the new combined company will introduce as the current individual companies compete against Disney, Universal and each other with various seasonal themed events.

In the 12 months through the end of the third quarter of 2023, the two park operators welcomed a combined 48 million guests in their venues and generated a combined $3.4 billion in revenue, $1.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA and $826 million of free cash flow. The combined company believes its increased free cash flow will provide it with greater flexibility to invest in new rides and attractions, more food and beverage selections, additional in-park offerings, and cross-park initiatives like consumer technology and enhanced guest services. 

Upon closing of the transaction in the first half of 2024, the combined company, to be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., will operate under the name Six Flags and trade under the ticker symbol FUN on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said in a statement.

When the deal is done, Cedar Fair's President and CEO Richard Zimmerman will serve in the same roles for the combined company, while Six Flags President and CEO Selim Bassoul will serve as executive chairman of the new company's board of directors that will consist of six directors from the Cedar Fair board of directors and six from the Six Flags board. Cedar Fair Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow will serve in the same role in the new company, and Six Flags CFO Gary Mick will serve as the new company's chief integration officer.

The merger is expected to close in the first six months of 2024 after receiving Six Flags shareholders' approval. Cedar Fair unitholders' approval is not required.

Shares of Six Flags rose 0.4% to $22.45 in after-hours trading on Nov. 2, while Cedar Fair shares rose 1.32% to $37.49.

Action Alerts PLUS offers expert portfolio guidance to help you make informed investing decisions. Sign up now.

Read More

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

International

Angry Shouting Aside, Here’s What Biden Is Running On

Angry Shouting Aside, Here’s What Biden Is Running On

Last night, Joe Biden gave an extremely dark, threatening, angry State of the Union…

Published

2 hours ago

on

March 8, 2024

By

Angry Shouting Aside, Here's What Biden Is Running On

Last night, Joe Biden gave an extremely dark, threatening, angry State of the Union address - in which he insisted that the American economy is doing better than ever, blamed inflation on 'corporate greed,' and warned that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to the republic.

But in between the angry rhetoric, he also laid out his 2024 election platform - for which additional details will be released on March 11, when the White House sends its proposed budget to Congress.

To that end, Goldman Sachs' Alec Phillips and Tim Krupa have summarized the key points:

Taxes

While railing against billionaires (nothing new there), Biden repeated the claim that anyone making under $400,000 per year won't see an increase in their taxes.  He also proposed a 21% corporate minimum tax, up from 15% on book income outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% (which would promptly be passed along to consumers in the form of more inflation). Goldman notes that "Congress is unlikely to consider any of these proposals this year, they would only come into play in a second Biden term, if Democrats also won House and Senate majorities."

Biden also called on Congress to restore the pandemic-era child tax credit.

Immigration

Instead of simply passing a slew of border security Executive Orders like the Trump ones he shredded on day one, Biden repeated the lie that Congress 'needs to act' before he can (translation: send money to Ukraine or the US border will continue to be a sieve).

As immigration comes into even greater focus heading into the election, we continue to expect the Administration to tighten policy (e.g., immigration has surged 20pp the last 7 months to first place with 28% in Gallup’s “most important problem” survey). As such, we estimate the foreign-born contribution to monthly labor force growth will moderate from 110k/month in 2023 to around 70-90k/month in 2024. -GS

Ukraine

Biden, with House Speaker Mike Johnson doing his best impression of a bobble-head, urged Congress to pass additional assistance for Ukraine based entirely on the premise that Russia 'won't stop' there (and would what, trigger article 5 and WW3 no matter what?), despite the fact that Putin explicitly told Tucker Carlson he has no further ambitions, and in fact seeks a settlement.

As Goldman estimates, "While there is still a clear chance that such a deal could come together, for now there is no clear path forward for Ukraine aid in Congress."

China

Biden, forgetting about all the aggressive tariffs, suggested that Trump had been soft on China, and that he will stand up "against China's unfair economic practices" and "for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

Healthcare

Lastly, Biden proposed to expand drug price negotiations to 50 additional drugs each year (an increase from 20 outlined in the IRA), which Goldman said would likely require bipartisan support "even if Democrats controlled Congress and the White House," as such policies would likely be ineligible for the budget "reconciliation" process which has been used in previous years to pass the IRA and other major fiscal party when Congressional margins are just too thin.

So there you have it. With no actual accomplishments to speak of, Biden can only attack Trump, lie, and make empty promises.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 18:00

Read More

Continue Reading

International

United Airlines adds new flights to faraway destinations

The airline said that it has been working hard to "find hidden gem destinations."

Published

9 hours ago

on

March 8, 2024

By

Since countries started opening up after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, airlines have been seeing demand soar not just for major global cities and popular routes but also for farther-away destinations.

Numerous reports, including a recent TripAdvisor survey of trending destinations, showed that there has been a rise in U.S. traveler interest in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam as well as growing tourism traction in off-the-beaten-path European countries such as Slovenia, Estonia and Montenegro.

Related: 'No more flying for you': Travel agency sounds alarm over risk of 'carbon passports'

As a result, airlines have been looking at their networks to include more faraway destinations as well as smaller cities that are growing increasingly popular with tourists and may not be served by their competitors.

The Philippines has been popular among tourists in recent years.

Shutterstock

United brings back more routes, says it is committed to 'finding hidden gems'

This week, United Airlines  (UAL)  announced that it will be launching a new route from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Morocco's Marrakesh. While it is only the country's fourth-largest city, Marrakesh is a particularly popular place for tourists to seek out the sights and experiences that many associate with the country — colorful souks, gardens with ornate architecture and mosques from the Moorish period.

More Travel:

"We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad," United's SVP of Global Network Planning Patrick Quayle, said in a press statement.

The new route will launch on Oct. 24 and take place three times a week on a Boeing 767-300ER  (BA)  plane that is equipped with 46 Polaris business class and 22 Premium Plus seats. The plane choice was a way to reach a luxury customer customer looking to start their holiday in Marrakesh in the plane.

Along with the new Morocco route, United is also launching a flight between Houston (IAH) and Colombia's Medellín on Oct. 27 as well as a route between Tokyo and Cebu in the Philippines on July 31 — the latter is known as a "fifth freedom" flight in which the airline flies to the larger hub from the mainland U.S. and then goes on to smaller Asian city popular with tourists after some travelers get off (and others get on) in Tokyo.

United's network expansion includes new 'fifth freedom' flight

In the fall of 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to fly to the Philippines with a new Manila-San Francisco flight. It has expanded its service to Asia from different U.S. cities earlier last year. Cebu has been on its radar amid growing tourist interest in the region known for marine parks, rainforests and Spanish-style architecture.

With the summer coming up, United also announced that it plans to run its current flights to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Portugal's Porto more frequently at different points of the week and reach four weekly flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai by August 29.

"This is your normal, exciting network planning team back in action," Quayle told travel website The Points Guy of the airline's plans for the new routes.

Read More

Continue Reading

International

Walmart launches clever answer to Target’s new membership program

The retail superstore is adding a new feature to its Walmart+ plan — and customers will be happy.

Published

9 hours ago

on

March 8, 2024

By

It's just been a few days since Target  (TGT)  launched its new Target Circle 360 paid membership plan. 

The plan offers free and fast shipping on many products to customers, initially for $49 a year and then $99 after the initial promotional signup period. It promises to be a success, since many Target customers are loyal to the brand and will go out of their way to shop at one instead of at its two larger peers, Walmart and Amazon.

Related: Walmart makes a major price cut that will delight customers

And stop us if this sounds familiar: Target will rely on its more than 2,000 stores to act as fulfillment hubs. 

This model is a proven winner; Walmart also uses its more than 4,600 stores as fulfillment and shipping locations to get orders to customers as soon as possible.

Sometimes, this means shipping goods from the nearest warehouse. But if a desired product is in-store and closer to a customer, it reduces miles on the road and delivery time. It's a kind of logistical magic that makes any efficiency lover's (or retail nerd's) heart go pitter patter. 

Walmart rolls out answer to Target's new membership tier

Walmart has certainly had more time than Target to develop and work out the kinks in Walmart+. It first launched the paid membership in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when many shoppers sheltered at home but still required many staples they might ordinarily pick up at a Walmart, like cleaning supplies, personal-care products, pantry goods and, of course, toilet paper. 

It also undercut Amazon  (AMZN)  Prime, which costs customers $139 a year for free and fast shipping (plus several other benefits including access to its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video). 

Walmart+ costs $98 a year, which also gets you free and speedy delivery, plus access to a Paramount+ streaming subscription, fuel savings, and more. 

An employee at a Merida, Mexico, Walmart. (Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

If that's not enough to tempt you, however, Walmart+ just added a new benefit to its membership program, ostensibly to compete directly with something Target now has: ultrafast delivery. 

Target Circle 360 particularly attracts customers with free same-day delivery for select orders over $35 and as little as one-hour delivery on select items. Target executes this through its Shipt subsidiary.

We've seen this lightning-fast delivery speed only in snippets from Amazon, the king of delivery efficiency. Who better to take on Target, though, than Walmart, which is using a similar store-as-fulfillment-center model? 

"Walmart is stepping up to save our customers even more time with our latest delivery offering: Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery," Walmart said in a statement, just a day after Target Circle 360 launched. "Starting at 6 a.m., earlier than ever before, customers can enjoy the convenience of On-Demand delivery."

Walmart  (WMT)  clearly sees consumers' desire for near-instant delivery, which obviously saves time and trips to the store. Rather than waiting a day for your order to show up, it might be on your doorstep when you wake up. 

Consumers also tend to spend more money when they shop online, and they remain stickier as paying annual members. So, to a growing number of retail giants, almost instant gratification like this seems like something worth striving for.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending