Murray & Murray to represent Cedar Fair in lawsuits

SANDUSKYA hearing this week could begin resolving lawsuits that threaten to delay the sale of Cedar Fair.At least seven lawsuits have been filed arguing the amusement chain and its board failed at their financial responsibility when they entered into a deal with Apollo Global Management last month.The $2.4 billion sale would allow Apollo to absorb about $1.6 billion of Cedar Fair's debt and offers unitholders $11.50 per unit.Erie County Common Pleas magistrate Steve Bechtel said he scheduled a hearing for Thursday to discuss requests to speed up the information-gathering process and possibly combine the lawsuits into one.The court will also consider an application that orders an adviser who consulted with Cedar Fair about the deal to provide testimony in a New York court.Click HERE for continuing coverage of the Cedar Fair deal.The Sandusky law office of Murray & Murray will represent Cedar Fair.Dennis Murray Sr. could not be reached for comment.One of the lawsuits filed was on behalf of Pat Herring of Pennsylvania, who owns 561 units and said she wants the sale stopped unless unitholders receive a higher price for their shares.She said Cedar Fair has been a good company, and she expects the unit price to go up. She said unitholders had no warning of the impending sale.The lawsuits allege board members did not seek the highest price for unitholders. Spokespersons for the company have said they considered a wide range of options before concluding this deal was in the best interest of unitholders.The $11.50 offer represents a 28 percent premium over the Dec. 15 closing price.Cedar Fair's sale to Apollo must be approved by voters representing two-thirds of the approximately 55 million outstanding units.