Q, FUN & SPECIAL MEETINGS, THE FUN CONTINUES

[The Interpreter]

Q Investments plans to reduce its stake in Cedar Fair by about 30%.

See more information here:

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704221204577080541841321390.html?mod=BOL_twm_dept

Q sales complete. Q now holds 12.8 percent, now holder of second largest share of units:

http://m.toledoblade.com/local/2012/01/14/Q-Investments-lowers-stake-in-Cedar-Fair.html

[The Interpreter]

A nice synopsis:

http://m.toledoblade.com/local/2012/02/26/Shareholder-activism-on-the-increase.html

If you read this, keep reading after the Marathon Petroleum discussion. The article continues on discussing FUN.

[The Interpreter]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQqAIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fbusiness%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Fcedar_fair_entertainment_cos_new_chief_executive_officer_matt_ouimet_believes_inspiring_guests_and_employees_is_good_for_the_bottom_line.html&ei=kgMqUZC0D-fg0gG9lYCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGvzbZVDDXwP7SMuJquIa-TIrojQw

Excellent interview with Matt Ouimet. At least a couple of minor errors (last year Luminousity was Powered by Pepsi, for example).

Don't miss the comments.

[The Interpreter]

For those who read the recently bumped thread about the Apollo Global aborted takeover of Cedar Fair--this thread, much shorter yet detailed, covers the technical aspects of just how Q, Mr. Raynor and the Knott family stopped Mr. Kinzel and Apollo Global in their tracks.

Well worth reading if you are interested in corporate finance and governance.

[Leland Wykoff]

Thank you, and hats off to, The Interpreter, for posting this thread.  Many, many, lessons came from the Cedar Fair Merger Debacle.  This battle literally changed the Merger and Acquisition world, players, and processes.  

 

The role social media played in enabling the stunning defeat of the abusive merger attempt and attending corporate governance improvements is quite difficult to accurately quantify.  However,  it remains beyond question the  InfoBahn assisted immeasurably in organizing, educating, and fostering investor actions at every turn.

 

Investors were enabled to grasp complex nuances of finance, governance, SEC filings, and motivations of the power players (which were not always apparent as great care had been taken to obscure and camouflage those conflicts and interests) while having meaningful conversations. 

 

Not being talked at by the company and hired public relations hacks; rather having key conversations, exchanges, and consultations within the investment communities was the critical element.  

 

By leveraging active knowledge bases--including KICentral--and other channels many investors could be reached and engaged with modest expense and a depth of targeting seldom ever possible previously.  Small unitholders, regulators, institutional unitholders, and families holding significant shares, such as the Knott's, could be engaged.

 

Traditional media also played important roles by broadcasting to wider audiences the non-sound-bite issues. We can be pleased flat and social media players came to the table and joined hands in ways it would have been difficult to foresee.

 

So, again, I thank The Interpreter along with the many other active participants, commenters, readers, and visitors at KICentral.com. as well as comment sections of newspapers and blogs.  Unitholders likely would have failed to prevail in the battles to reform and address corporate governance issues at Cedar Fair without you, your platforms, and the active participation broader social media enabled.

 

I suggest this new thread could be improved by linking to the full archive of the original thread for those who may desire to engage in deeper study and analysis.  Would you be so kind as to provide such a link?                 

[The Interpreter]

That would be this:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/20462-cedar-fair-sale-re-finance-what-next/

[The Interpreter]

For a much shorter version (and some Terp sardonic humor), see:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/20934-cedar-fair-to-apollo/