REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - U.S. amusement park operator Cedar Fair LP (FUN.N) is exploring a potential merger with peer Six Flags Entertainment Corp (SIX.N), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Cedar Fair shares and Six Flags rose more than 6% and 7% on the news, respectively, in afternoon trading in New York. They have both underperformed the Refinitiv United States Leisure & Recreation Price Return Index by more than 15% this year. Cedar Fairs owns 11 amusement parks and four gated outdoor water parks in 10 U.S. states and in Toronto, Ontario. Six Flags is the largest operator of water parks in North America, with 27 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

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Persons: Lucy Nicholson, Greg Roumeliotis, David French, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Flags Entertainment Corp, Cedar Fair, Fair, United States Leisure, Cedar Fairs, Thomson Locations: Valencia , California, U.S, New York, Toronto , Ontario, North America, United States, Mexico, Canada