DXB Entertainments to pay $7.5m to Six Flags for ending project

Payment is part of a settlement with both companies agreeing there would be no further claims

Visitors ride the Full Throttle roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, U.S., on Monday, April 20, 2015. Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on April 22. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Dubai-based DXB Entertainments will pay $7.5 million (Dh27.5m) to Six Flags as part of an agreement including the first right of refusal on any future project of the US company in Dubai over the next five years.

The theme park operator agreed with Six Parks there will be no further claims under the settlement, DXB Entertainments said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market on Tuesday.

"[Six Flags] SF Dubai has a entered into a right of first refusal agreement with regard to the intellectual property usage of the brand Six Flags and/or Six Flags Dubai," DXB Entertainments said to the DFM, where its is listed.

The company, which operates theme parks such as Hollywood-inspired Motiongate and a Lego-themed water park, decided in February to shelve plans for a Six Flags theme park in the emirate due to lack of financing. DXB Entertainments in May reported a wider first-quarter loss of Dh215.7m as visitor numbers dropped and revenues shrank.

The $7.5m payment will be reflected in the company's cash flow statement for the 2019 fiscal year, it said.

The UAE has opened a growing number of theme parks as part of efforts to diversify its entertainment offering and attract more tourists.

DXB Entertainments, which failed to turn a profit since it listed on the Dubai stock exchange in 2014, saw total number of visits to its theme parks decline 11 per cent to 760,000 in the first quarter.