SANDUSKY, Ohio — Sandusky-based Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point and 10 other amusement parks, has rejected a $4 billion offer from Six Flags, according to Reuters.

The news comes two days after Reuters reported that Six Flags was pursuing a purchase of amusement-park rival Cedar Fair.

According to Reuters, the offer was rejected for being too low. Six Flags offered a reported $70 per share, mostly in stocks, with a small cash component.

Cedar Fair stock was trading at about $58 per share before the proposed sale was reported on Wednesday. After a day and a half of high volume, stocks closed Thursday at $61.05.

On Friday, Cedar Fair shares fell more than 4%, to $58.19 at closing.

Cedar Fair officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, said Six Flags’ offer was way too low, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the Texas company comes back with a higher offer.

Speigel values the company between $5 billion and $8 billion, depending on whether Cedar Fair’s debt is added to the price.

“Nobody puts their optimum offer out at the beginning,” said Speigel, a former executive at Kings Island who now consults with amusement parks around the world. “There’s always a round of back and forth. Usually the first number is not the last number.”

Earlier Friday, Wells Fargo analyst Tim Conder called the possibility of a sale “highly unlikely” after meeting with Cedar Fair executives late Thursday.

“While no specific comment was made regarding the Reuters article of (Six Flags) making a bid for (Cedar Fair), management did state that the company is NOT looking to be sold,” he told StreetInsider.com, a financial news site.

The possible joining of the two companies sent shockwaves through the industry this week. They are two of the biggest players in the amusement park industry in North America, with a combined 42 parks spread across the continent.

The possibility hit particularly hard in Sandusky, the long-time headquarters of Cedar Fair and home to flagship park, Cedar Point, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2020.

James Hardiman, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said Thursday that he doubted think Six Flags could afford Cedar Fair. “It would need to be a pretty sizable premium,” said Hardiman. “I’d be pretty shocked if Cedar Fair shareholders went for a takeout at anything less than $70 a share, and I’m not sure that would be enough. You get much higher than that, the Six Flags ownership group may not see that as a great value either.”

He recalled the failed sale of Cedar Fair in 2010 to Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, which bid $2.4 billion for the company, or $11.50 per share. Cedar Fair executives recommended the sale, but stakeholders revolted and the deal was called off. “With that in mind, I think they [Cedar Fair executives] would be even more conscious about getting a really good price,” he said.

Both Cedar Fair and Six Flags operate well-regarded, well-run parks, said Hardiman. Cedar Fair, he said, spends more; Six Flags is more cost conscious.

“Certainly among hard-core amusement park people, there is a perspective that Six Flags is a little bit more cookie cutter,” said Hardiman. “At least in the past tense, they have had a reputation as being not quite as clean, maybe a little bit more teen focused, less family oriented.”

There isn’t much overlap in the two companies’ markets. The only states where Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks compete are California and Missouri.

Six Flags, based in Texas, owns 15 amusements parks and 11 water parks in North America. Cedar Fair owns 11 amusement parks and five waterparks in the U.S. and Canada, including Cedar Point in Sandusky and Kings Island outside Cincinnati.

Cedar Fair was founded in 1983, after Cedar Point acquired Valleyfair Amusement Park outside of Minneapolis. The company went public in 1987. Six Flags dates back to 1961, with the founding of Six Flags Over Texas outside Dallas.

The two companies have a long and controversial history in Northeast Ohio centering around Geauga Lake, the historic Aurora amusement park.

Premier Parks, which later purchased Six Flags, acquired Geauga Lake in 1995, rebranding it Six Flags Ohio and later, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Cedar Fair bought the property in 2004 and closed it in 2008 (with water park Wildwater Kingdom remaining open until 2016).

Much of the land remains vacant, and many locals and amusement park fans resent both Six Flags and Cedar Fair for the closure and the eyesore.

Early reaction to the news on Twitter was largely positive, at least from Cedar Fair fans:

Byee! But, seriously, at the end of the day this whole ordeal and the reaction to it just goes to show how beloved and special Cedar Fair really is. So glad to be a pat of the community ❤️ https://t.co/D5hueKNPAY — Steph (@bweekins) October 4, 2019

Yay!!!!! Oh my goodness, I'm so happy @TonyClarkCP @GracePeacock!!! Cedar Fair is amazing and fans don't want any of the parks to change ❤️❤️❤️ Been to parks all around the world, never been to a single Six Flags! https://t.co/yUCW60C1IL — Jeanne (@TweetedByJeanne) October 4, 2019

Read more: Six Flags pursuing purchase of Cedar Fair, including Cedar Point: Reuters reports