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SIX FLAGS BANKRUPTCY: MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS


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Gives bondholders more while still keeping current "senior management":

...The new plan does not propose changing Six Flags senior management, which is headed by Mark Shapiro, a former ESPN executive.

The Avenue Capital bondholders had accused the management of using an initial plan that "enriches themselves at the expense of virtually every other creditor" in earlier court documents.

The new plan leaves in place some of the bonuses that Avenue Capital had earlier opposed, including more than $5 million for top executives if the company emerges from Chapter 11.

Bondholders are the biggest winners of the changes....

...While the company said the plan had broad support, it may face objections....

The company has also attracted the attention of former managers, who in August offered to run the company for a $1 salary and said they could increase its value.

The case is In re Premier International Holdings Inc. and Six Flags Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-12019.

http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationN...E5A80WD20091109
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The company has also attracted the attention of former managers, who in August offered to run the company for a $1 salary and said they could increase its value.

I wonder how many years these former managers are willing work work for a $1.00 salary to turn this around. This is not going to happen overnight!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Six Flags Bondholders Submit Alternative Plan...Reorganization's Next Move Not Yet Clear:

... The noteholders who proposed the plan will receive up to 81 percent of the reorganized company's stock. That compares with the company's current plan that proposes giving them less than 5 percent of the stock.

The noteholders proposed using a rights offering of $420 million to pay senior lenders and a senior class of noteholders.

The proposal is the third alternative plan from investors in Six Flags, the world's largest operator of regional theme parks....

The case is In re Premier International Holdings Inc. and Six Flags Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-12019.

http://www.reuters.com/article/BROKER/idUSN2940418820091129

...

The latest restructuring idea comes from a group of bondholders led by Stark, of Milwaukee. The Stark-led bondholders say they can raise the money to pay off the Avenue bondholders, appease the banks, and set themselves up to own Six Flags.

The Stark group also includes CQS Directional Opportunities Master Fund of the Cayman Islands, and Tricadia Capital Management and 1798 Global Partners, both of New York, court documents say.

Six Flags is due in court Friday for a preliminary hearing on the Chapter 11 exit plan it agreed to with the Avenue-led bondholder contingent. The hearing is supposed to set the stage for creditor voting and confirmation, which would allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

A spokesman for Avenue couldn't be reached Sunday for comment on the rival proposal. The Stark proposal could upset Avenue's hopes of a clear path to the exit from Chapter 11 for Six Flags, a company that saw its fortunes suffer as consumers cut back entertainment spending....

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091129-704400.html

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An interesting read Terp. I can't imagine anyone would want to let the old management anywhere near the company regardless of their salary. Under the Stark plan then there would be a new mangement team? In your opinion what are the chances of each of these two proposed reorganizations?

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Well, there are currently FOUR proposed plans. One thing I learned a long time ago is not to predict a court...things can go very unexpectedly. Given the fact creditors get to vote on the plan (which still must be approved by the court), and that Six Flags' right to have an exclusive plan expires Friday (but could be extended by the court), and the fact Six Flags has agreed to Avenue Capital's plan (which would keep Snyder and Shapiro in charge)...one would think that plan would be most likely but for the fact the creditors may not be amused by that (though earlier JPMorganChase seemed to be...)

Put another way, grab some popcorn and watch...and be sure to get your handstamped should you need to go to your car.

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Well, there are currently FOUR proposed plans. One thing I learned a long time ago is not to predict a court...things can go very unexpectedly. Given the fact creditors get to vote on the plan (which still must be approved by the court), and that Six Flags' right to have an exclusive plan expires Friday (but could be extended by the court), and the fact Six Flags has agreed to Avenue Capital's plan (which would keep Snyder and Shapiro in charge)...one would think that plan would be most likely but for the fact the creditors may not be amused by that (though earlier JPMorganChase seemed to be...)

Put another way, grab some popcorn and watch...and be sure to get your handstamped should you need to go to your car.

Just remember there is no re-entry after 7:00 PM.

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NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday approved a disclosure statement on Six Flags Inc's (SIXFQ.OB) plan of reorganization, pushing the bankrupt company closer to being able to solicit votes from creditors on the plan....

The next step would be a confirmation hearing. The judge today also heard debates about when it should be scheduled.

He:

...scheduled the confirmation hearing for two weeks in March. He emphasized that this was a hard deadline and scheduled several days of hearings for discovery and depositions before those confirmation hearings.

"It's going to be a hard schedule. People are going to have to comply with it," Sontchi said. "We've got to get this done."...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1126076720091211

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  • 3 weeks later...

Analysis: Six Flags Creditors See Value In Dick Clark Stake:

When U.S. television legend Dick Clark rings in his 36th new year in Times Square on Thursday night, some creditors of the bankrupt Six Flags Inc might ask themselves: How much is he worth? As creditors fight for control of the U.S. theme park company, Six Flags' 39 percent stake in dick clark productions has drawn increasing attention.

Six Flags acquired the stake in the producer of TV shows like "The American Music Awards," "The Golden Globes," and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" in June 2007 for $39.7 million.

This is not the biggest asset held by Six Flags, which runs 20 theme parks in North America, but it is growing to be one of the most contentious. The company's unsecured creditors demand to know more about what the stake is now worth, while other creditors are fighting over which Six Flags unit owns it....

http://www.forexpros...rk-stake-110418

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Six Flags Inc., the New York-based theme-park owner of Great Adventure in Jackson and other amusement parks across the nation, has approached JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank AG to arrange an $830 million senior secured credit facility to finance its exit from bankruptcy.

The loans will include a $150 million five-year revolving credit facility and a $680 million six-year term loan, the company said today in a regulatory filing. The reorganization plan also includes a $150 million financing commitment from Time Warner Inc., Six Flags said....

Confirmation of the proposed plan is expected in March with the company exiting bankruptcy shortly afterwards, Six Flags said in the filing. Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code allows companies protection from creditors while they work out a plan of reorganization.

Yesterday, Moody’s Investors Service assigned the proposed credit facility a B1 rating, which is four levels below investment grade. Moody’s said that the management team at Six Flags has “made progress in making the parks more family- friendly and generating incremental revenue from licensing and sponsorships.”...

http://www.app.com/article/20100107/BUSINESS/100107106/1003/Six+Flags+names+possible+banks+for++830+million+loans

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  • 1 month later...

Shareholder Wants Six Flags Management Replaced:

A holder of Six Flags preferred shares asked a federal judge to appoint a trustee to run the bankrupt theme park operator because current management has breached its fiduciary duty and suffers conflicts of interest.

According to a court document filed on Thursday by Resilient Capital Management, Six Flags' (SIXFQ.OB) management did not explore opportunities to pay off preferred securities which could have avoided bankruptcy.

Resilient also said members of the board have drained Six Flags' resources to benefit other companies in which board members have an interest. It also said management was conflicted by the "windfall" it stood to receive upon emerging from bankruptcy.

"There can be no confidence in the current management of the debtors based upon evidence of its own self-dealing and the decisions it made that led debtors into bankruptcy," said the filing....

http://www.reuters.c...116730420100212

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This has been a very interesting few years for the amusement and leisure industry. Life keeps shakin' the trees and the nuts just keep falling.

I can't help but think after this period of cleansing has washed through the industry we will see some growth again...

I have generally held the opinion that Shapiro and company have been on the right track in improving Six Flags. December 14th of this year, should he remain employed that long, will be Shapiro's 5th year at the helm of CEO. Five years later, all the cost cutting measures at the parks have still generated bankruptcy. If one were to believe in five year plans, now is the time for a rebirth not further decline. I just am left to wonder if the measures which have been taken so far are even enough post-bankruptcy.

Maybe it is time for a change at the top. I have always wondered what the marketing or corporate team was thinking in the past few years when a season pass (at a certain park, yet valid to all SF parks) could be had for nearly 1/5 of the price of a Cedar Fair Platinum pass.

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Six Flags Creditors Seek Mediation:

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The creditors' committee for theme- park operator Six Flags Inc. filed a motion yesterday proposing that the bankruptcy judge order the warring factions into mediation before they embark on a contested two-week confirmation scheduled to begin March 8.

The committee, which wants its mediation motion discussed at a hearing tomorrow, isn't proposing a delay in the confirmation hearing. The committee, which is opposed to the company's reorganization plan, proposes having the mediation begin "on an expedited basis."

The committee reported in its motion that noteholders at the holding company and noteholders at the operating company level reached impasse on Feb. 16 and "are not communicating directly with each other."...

http://www.businessw...bankruptcy.html

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