Q HAD DISCUSSED MERGING CEDAR FAIR WITH SIX FLAGS

[The Interpreter]

Well worth the read:

http://toledoblade.c...870/-1/BUSINESS

[TH13TEEN]

A Six Flags & Cedar Fair merge is about; the worst plan ever thought off...

[BoddaH1994]

A Six Flags & Cedar Fair merge is about; the worst plan ever thought off...

Not exactly.

Granted, we're talking about a lot of money and a lot of debt. Then again, we're talking about a HUGE amount of buying power. If Q could get the companies fiscally stable, it would have a fantastic empire on its hands.

[The Interpreter]

...The Reporting Persons were previously approached by certain holding company bondholders in Six Flags, Inc. concerning the hypothetical possibility of merging or combining the Issuer with Six Flags, Inc. It became apparent on March 19, 2010 that these holding company bondholders were likely going to control Six Flags, Inc. and, since then, there have not been any additional conversations with such bondholders. The Reporting Persons have also had conversations with the Issuer regarding the general status of the Six Flags, Inc. bankruptcy process, but no discussions have occurred with the Issuer concerning the combination of the two businesses.

The Reporting Persons do not currently intend to engage in conversations about the possibility of a combination or merger between Six Flags, Inc. and the Issuer, and believe that any such conversations would be premature. The Reporting Persons prefer to remain free to trade in the securities of the Issuer. Should the Reporting Persons, in the future, engage in substantive conversations about such a combination, they would suspend further trading in securities of the issuer, if so advised by their counsel.

Except as set forth in this Item 4, the Reporting Persons have no present plans or proposals that relate to or that would result in any of the actions specified in clauses (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D of the Act....

http://www.sec.gov/A...arfair13da6.htm

A bit different than The Toledo Blade had reported....

[The Interpreter]

A bit of clarifying...

Apparently, Avenue Capital had talked about merging Six Flags...they talked to Cedar Fair. Avenue Capital lost out in the Six Flags bankruptcy.

The Stark Bondholders did get Six Flags (subject to court approval and bankruptcy exit)...they approached Q about merging Six Flags with Cedar Fair before it became clear they would get the company. They have not done so since. Q has not approached them, as they see this as "premature."

Interesting...

And Cedar Fair just so happens to adopt a poison pill. What a coincidence.

[CrashOverRided]

AHHHHHHH now your talking!!!! lmao....... got to stop my head from spinning

[The Interpreter]

Somehow, if Mr. Kinzel ventures out of his Cedar Point office or home this summer, I doubt it is a walk in the park...

[Cory Butcher]

From one merger, to a poison pill, to talk of another merger.

Must be the off-season.

I hope Six Flags does not merge with Cedar Fair. That competition, or what little there is, is needed to drive quality in the chains higher.

Secondly, the cultures of the two companies would be drastically different, and neither company can get their own finances right. I couldn't imagine what would happen if two companies facing serious headwinds as these two companies are merged. Sounds disastrous.

[The Interpreter]

Neither company would have the management that got it into the current debt situations...

Mr. Shapiro inherited his mess from the Gary Story regime, and is being retained, though he cannot keep Dan Snyder without board approval. Mr. Kinzel bought his way into his mess....and I highly doubt Q or Shapiro would retain him.

[CrashOverRided]

Somehow, if Mr. Kinzel ventures out of his Cedar Point office or home this summer, I doubt it is a walk in the park...

Agreed

[TH13TEEN]

A Six Flags & Cedar Fair merge is about; the worst plan ever thought off...

Not exactly.

Granted, we're talking about a lot of money and a lot of debt. Then again, we're talking about a HUGE amount of buying power. If Q could get the companies fiscally stable, it would have a fantastic empire on its hands.

I disagree. So many park so close to eachother... I think it would just be a awful

"thing".

[Cory Butcher]

Neither company would have the management that got it into the current debt situations...

Mr. Shapiro inherited his mess from the Gary Story regime, and is being retained, though he cannot keep Dan Snyder without board approval. Mr. Kinzel bought his way into his mess....and I highly doubt Q or Shapiro would retain him.

Yeah, BUT, once you cut the head off the snake, it continues to writhe around the ground.

You can replace management but you cannot replace the damage done to the financial environment that the companies operate in. Be it their fault or that of the general US economy.

[CrashOverRided]

A Six Flags & Cedar Fair merge is about; the worst plan ever thought off...

Not exactly.

Granted, we're talking about a lot of money and a lot of debt. Then again, we're talking about a HUGE amount of buying power. If Q could get the companies fiscally stable, it would have a fantastic empire on its hands.

I disagree. So many park so close to eachother... I think it would just be a awful

"thing".

Its called Market Share

[The Interpreter]

Ironically, Mr. Kinzel used the same argument when acquiring Paramount Parks. He claimed the many synergies between the two park systems would create massive economies and savings. He also claimed the best parts of each system would be retained and adopted by the other. I will let you be the judge of how well that has worked...

[CrashOverRided]

Well .........i am torn on that one.

[CoastersRZ]

They essentially thought they could save more money with the economies of scale than they actually did. They believed that there was a lot of fat that could be cut out of the Paramount Parks operation, when in reality, they were already a fairly lean machine.

Of course, a Six Flags Cedar Fair merger would be subject to anti-trust review. It would definitely seem to be a monopoly for most seasonal parks. But there are several new players recently that have been expanding their portfolio of properties including Herschend (when they bought Wild Adventures a few years back), and Merlin, a division of Blackstone. And remember, that most amusement parks, Kings Island included, are not necessarily competing against one another in the broad scheme of things. Instead, they are competing against other attractions in the area for the limited discretionary income of residents. Things such as the Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Reds, movies, video games, Riverbend Music Center, and even Coney Island all are also big competition to Kings Island, even though only Coney is the only real amusement park competitor in the Cincinnati area.

[CrashOverRided]

They essentially thought they could save more money with the economies of scale than they actually did. They believed that there was a lot of fat that could be cut out of the Paramount Parks operation, when in reality, they were already a fairly lean machine.

Of course, a Six Flags Cedar Fair merger would be subject to anti-trust review. It would definitely seem to be a monopoly for most seasonal parks. But there are several new players recently that have been expanding their portfolio of properties including Herschend (when they bought Wild Adventures a few years back), and Merlin, a division of Blackstone. And remember, that most amusement parks, Kings Island included, are not necessarily competing against one another in the broad scheme of things. Instead, they are competing against other attractions in the area for the limited discretionary income of residents. Things such as the Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Reds, movies, video games, Riverbend Music Center, and even Coney Island all are also big competition to Kings Island, even though only Coney is the only real amusement park competitor in the Cincinnati area.

Well i think we can all agree, this could be a very interseting season for Cedar Fair. Like Terpy said many of times. the future looks uncertain.

[RingMaster]

A Six Flags & Cedar Fair merge is about; the worst plan ever thought off...

Not exactly.

Granted, we're talking about a lot of money and a lot of debt. Then again, we're talking about a HUGE amount of buying power. If Q could get the companies fiscally stable, it would have a fantastic empire on its hands.

By fiscally stable, I'm expecting at least HALF of the total parks between Cedar Fair and Six Flags to be shut down.

Also, need I remind you of how things work among both parties when it comes to adding new rides to their parks? Can you imagine how long it would take to wait for a new attraction to arrive at any given property when a company has 35 PARKS to maintain?

[CoastersRZ]

Yes, they have 35 parks to maintain. But one would also think the capital expenditure budget would also increase. Although, the sum is not always equal to the parts. Cedar Fair spends less now on cap. ex. than what Paramount/Cedar Fair did before Cedar Fair bought Paramount.

[The Interpreter]

But, had CBS kept Paramount Parks, the capex budget by now might have been $6.34. Total. Maybe.

It was sad watching Jeff Seibert talk about "cheap and cheerful" attractions at IAAPA that last year....and then he was gone...

[CoastersRZ]

Yep. He left shortly after IAAPA that year. He remains employed at Schlitterbahn though. And he still makes visits to Cincinnati. In fact, he stopped by Coney one day last year. And I know because I was working in the ticket booth and sold him and his family their rides wristbands that day!