Falcon’s Beyond and FAST II, a special purpose acquisition company, have entered into a definitive merger agreement that is expected to result in Falcon’s Beyond becoming a publicly listed company on Nasdaq.
Upon the closing of the transaction, the new combined company (the “PubCo”) will be named “Falcon’s Beyond Global” and is expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “FBYD.”
Falcon’s Beyond, led by executive chairman Scott Demerau and CEO Cecil D. Magpuri, has collaborated with some of the most accomplished entertainment IP holders across the globe and has established multiple joint ventures with Meliá Hotels International (“Melia”) to co-own and co-operate multiple beachside resorts and parks. The Company has been involved in the master planning of more than $100 billion worth of development projects, producing award-winning entertainment experiences, and creating exceptional media content and experiential technology for worldwide audiences. Falcon’s Beyond’s business segments’ list of client and IP collaborators includes Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Atlantis, Marvel, National Geographic, NASA, AT&T, Lego, Hard Rock, Formula 1, Lionsgate, Cartoon Network and Microsoft, among others.
Falcon’s Beyond’s fully integrated entertainment business consists of three distinct categories, all bolstered by its world-class partnerships:
Falcon’s Creative Group:
- Provides master planning, creative design, media and audio production, attraction systems and experiential technology to customers around the world.
- Elevates immersive storytelling experiences by designing new themed attraction systems and technologies.
- Develops patented and patent-pending products including augmented reality devices, interactive walking adventures, immersive interactive theatres, 360° motion-based experiences, customized dark rides, revolutionary dome theatre experiences and a smooth and sophisticated flying theatre system.
- Currently developing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first, and the region’s largest, water theme park with Qiddiya.
- Has received more than 30 industry awards throughout its 22-year history.
Falcon’s Beyond Destinations:
- Develops, owns and operates leisure destination resorts, redefining location-based entertainment and hospitality by blending luxury, leisure and entertainment to create “resortainment.”
- Through its 50-50 strategic joint ventures with Meliá, one of the world’s largest leisure hotel groups with 350+ properties across 40+ countries, the Company will expand the original Katmandu Park concept through a global pipeline of additional Katmandu theme parks.
- Successfully launched the Katmandu IP in Mallorca, Spain in 2007.
- Katmandu Park Punta Cana expected to open in the Dominican Republic by early 2023.
- Additional locations in Tenerife and Playa Del Carmen by 2024.
- New Falcon’s Central signature destinations will merge retail, dining and entertainment.
Falcon’s Beyond Brands:
- Utilises a unique 360-degree brand expander methodology to leverage all three of Falcon’s Beyond business segments.
- Seeks to activate and grow both proprietary and partner IP concurrently across all forms of entertainment.
- Includes media content, consumer products and themed entertainment destinations.
- Brand expander strategy compresses the timeline for IP monetization.
Cecil D. Magpuri, chief executive officer, said: “Falcon’s Beyond turns imagined worlds into reality, and we are thrilled to be partnering with the FAST II team as they join with us in this transformative transaction to become a publicly traded company. Falcon’s Beyond intends to use the funds raised in this transaction to continue to scale globally, build out the Company’s brick-and-mortar experiential entertainment operations and enhance our proprietary content. Today’s announcement represents an exciting new chapter that will enable Falcon’s Beyond to accelerate growth in its high-performing core markets, expand into new ones and rapidly deploy IP across all verticals in the global entertainment industry. Furthermore, Falcon’s Beyond also plans to continue to build upon our successful track record of delivering highly profitable theme parks, resorts and attractions with patented technologies, feature films, episodic series, consumer products, licensing and merchandising.”
Doug Jacob, Founder of FAST II, added: “FAST II was built to identify and accelerate the growth of an exceptional company – we believe we have found that in Falcon’s Beyond and its best-in-class management team. The extraordinary and wide-reaching breadth of its IP and brick-and-mortar opportunities, ideal unit economics and significant opportunity for expansion offers an exciting platform for growth in the entertainment category. Scott and Cecil both have tremendous experience and expertise in the space, and we believe that the Company is poised for rapid growth and will continue to lead experiential entertainment development and IP expansion. We are so pleased to be able to play an important role in guiding Falcon’s Beyond on its path to becoming a publicly traded company.”
