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Cedar Fair: Sale? Re-Finance? What Next?


KIBOB
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Was he predicting results or was he speculating as to the outcome of the court action?

Definition of "foolhardy" by Mirriam Webster online, "adj. foolishly adventurous and bold"

What makes a man's speculation or opinion, which he suredly is relying on some knowledge to espouse, foolishly adventurous or bold? Just curious. ;)

I agree with you, it is very hard to predict the outcome, but should that keep people from using their knowledge to try?

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Was he predicting results or was he speculating as to the outcome of the court action?...

Allow me to quote the learned gentleman from his own article:

...This litigation does not appear to be a deal-stopper at all, even in a local court unfamiliar with these issues....

Sure seems to be predicting results to me....and that's fine....he can do that if he wishes...I will stick to doing what I know better...predicting the vote...I cannot see this deal as currently constituted being approved by the holders of 2/3 of the units.

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^^When the holders of the units vote, do they have to cast a vote for each individual unit, or can they cast a single vote, but it goes for all of their units? If they have to do a vote for each unit, Q iss going to be voting for a veeeerrrry long time laugh.gif (I assume the latter option, as opposed to the former)

^Isn't 'der' German?

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Holders vote their units as a whole, though they could split their vote if they so desire. Holders who hold for others might do exactly that...such as trusts, estates, etc. Very few unit holders vote in person, though that is an option. Most will vote by mail or electronically....

And yes, der is German...I threw that in just for Beast1979. Surely he can understand that! :)

A DER can also be the designated engineering representative:

http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/designees_delegations/designee_types/der/

Tee Hee.

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Holders vote their units as a whole, though they could split their vote if they so desire. Holders who hold for others might do exactly that...such as trusts, estates, etc. Very few unit holders vote in person, though that is an option. Most will vote by mail or electronically....

And yes, der is German...I threw that in just for Beast1979. Surely he can understand that! :)

A DER can also be the designated engineering representative:

http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/designees_delegations/designee_types/der/

Tee Hee.

Sometimes DER run out in front of my car at night....

*groan*

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...Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services Inc. of Cincinnati said it's no surprise Cedar Fair couldn't find other interested buyers.

"They had their company out there [for sale] about a year and a half ago, and at that time there were no offers either," Mr. Speigel said.

"In terms of [other park owners], at this point in time there really aren't that many interested in expanding," he said, adding that stock prices of theme-park operators is at a 15-year low.

Mr. Speigel added that Cedar Fair agreed to be acquired because it has had difficulty with its huge debt load, and prospects for a turnaround are poor given the current recession. The firm owes $1.6 billion....

(brackets in the original)

http://toledoblade.c...2/-1/BUSINESS01

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So, Cedar Fair announces that it got no offers during the go shop period. What do you think Q4 Funding LP did yesterday? Buy another 605,784 units. That's what:

http://www.sec.gov/A...45X03/edgar.xml

Oh, and that SEC form included this note:

1. The Units are held directly by Q4 Funding, L.P. ("Q4"). Excalibur Domestic, LLC ("Excalibur") is the general partner of Star Spangled Sprockets, L.P. ("Star"), which is the general partner of Q4. Geoffrey P. Raynor ("Raynor") is the person who controls Excalibur. Pursuant to Rule 16a-1(a)(2)(ii)(B ) under the Securities Filing Act of 1934, each of Excalibur, Star and Raynor is deemed to be the beneficial owner of any Units beneficially owned by Q4 only to the extent of the greater of his or its respective direct or indirect interest.
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Cedar Fair Seeks Larger Loan, Less In Bonds:

Cedar Fair LP has increased the term loan it seeks to back its purchase by Apollo Global Management to $1.2 billion from $1 billion, according to people familiar with the change.

The amusement park operator also decreased the size of a planned bond issuance to $500 million from $700 million, said the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private....

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100129/BUSINESS03/100129655/-1/BUSINESS04

I see no way this can be interpreted as good news...

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New Lawsuit By 17 Unitholders Seeks Class Action Against Cedar Fair:

Seventeen unitholders stand together to stop the sale of Cedar Fair.

A lawsuit consolidating 11 complaints reiterates the unitholders' concerns the sale price of $11.50 per unit undervalues the company's worth and unfairly deprives them of the profits they seek.

The new lawsuit argues the process and discussions that led up to the Dec. 16 sale agreement to Apollo Global Management was flawed. It also claims the preliminary proxy statement contains flawed or incomplete information, which could influence how unitholders vote on the sale....

Lawyers for Cedar Fair and Apollo Global Management have until Feb. 9 to respond to the new lawsuit and intend to ask for the case to be dismissed.

The Sandusky Register misses (or glosses over) the big news here, that the plaintiffs are seeking a class action:

..."As a result of the unlawful actions of defendants Cedar Fair and Apollo, Plaintiffs and the other members of the Class will be irreparably harmed in that they will not receive fair value for Cedar Fair's assets and business," the plaintiffs argue....

http://www.sanduskyr...ont/1892785.txt

A class action is not a given, the Court in its discretion must decide whether to approve proceeding as such. Factors include whether the parties in the proposed class are similarly situated, whether the issues are virtually all the same from proposed class member to class member and whether all issues will be fairly prosecuted by the lead plaintiffs on behalf of all members of the class.

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So if the class action is approved by the court, does it realistically stand a chance of blocking the sale if the case eventually is decided in favor of the unit holders? I mean, can this one class action lawsuit (if it gets approval for class action status) be able to block the sale?

Of course, this is all a mute point if 2/3 of the unit holders don`t approve the deal to begin with.

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Yes, the Court has the undisputed power to block the sale, though that is very unlikely....it could happen. If there were no such possibility, the defendant's motion for summary judgment or motion to dismiss would be granted, as there would be no conceivable circumstance where the plaintiffs could prevail. That, also, could still happen, but is also unlikely. How the Court will ultimately rule depends on the evidence presented and many other factors.

There is also the question of what happens to the Delaware litigation against Apollo if this class action is granted...

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The Court action may well affect that. The final proxy has to be approved by the SEC, the proxy statement and voting methods must be distributed, then there is a meeting at which the vote is held. It won't be before mid-February, at the extremely optimistic earliest. The SEC may well force Cedar Fair to treat this as a "going private" transaction. If that is the case, extensive proxy revisions and additions will be necessary. That could add quite a bit more delay, and possibly even affect the outcome.

Since Q currently has stated it will vote no and has such a large position, the holders of approximately 3/4 of the remaining units would have to vote yes in order for the required 2/3 consent to be achieved. That is quite a hurdle.

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Just the last paragraph above. Q owns so much now (assuming it keeps its position, which it may not) that for the sale to be approved, the holders of 3/4 of the remaining units must vote yes. That is a very difficult level to achieve. And still no word on how they will vote from the Knott family, whose position many will find very influential, particularly should they decide to vote against the sale...or as Cedar Fair paints it, "merger."

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