The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011/01/06/news/business/doc4d265af15ebc7840048703.txt http://toledoblade.com/article/20110107/BUSINESS03/110109716/-1/BUSINESS07 Both are summaries of information that has appeared here, from press releases... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 ^I think the Toledo Blade needs to do a little proof reading/fact checking. From the Toledo Blade article linked to above (emphasis added by me): However, average per-patron spending in its parks last year decreased by 1 percent, the same amount as in 2009. From CF's recent press release (again, emphasis added by me): Average in-park guest per capita spending in 2010 increased approximately 1% from the prior year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 ^I think the Toledo Blade needs to do a little proof reading/fact checking. From the Toledo Blade article linked to above (emphasis added by me): However, average per-patron spending in its parks last year decreased by 1 percent, the same amount as in 2009. From CF's recent press release (again, emphasis added by me): Average in-park guest per capita spending in 2010 increased approximately 1% from the prior year. The Toledo Blade is correct. It was Cedar Fair that needed to do some proofreading/fact checking: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23267&view=findpost&p=413315 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 ^I was just about to add "EDIT: I just now saw Terpy's post about CF correcting the press release in the other topic" at the end of my previous post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Amusement park boss's rough ride: Cedar Fair investor wants longtime CEO ousted at board chair: (this one deserves a full reading): http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-amusement-park-shake-up,0,1811271.story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Q's letter today: January 7, 2011 Dear Fellow Cedar Fair Unitholders: We apologize for the numerous mailings we have sent you. However, the upcoming vote at Cedar Fair's January 11, 2011 special meeting is very important to unitholders, and we want to make sure everyone has the most up-to-date information and is fully informed before voting. We know there are complex issues involved here. However, Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") has just recommended that unitholders vote the GREEN proxy card "FOR" both of the Q Investments proposals. ISS is the leading independent voting advisory firm and specializes in giving unitholders a completely independent and unbiased third-party recommendation on how to vote after examining all sides of the issues. We should also point out that the New York Times has recently given Cedar Fair management an "F" when it comes to shareholder rights. Your vote is extremely important. Not voting is effectively a vote for management and would also be contrary to the ISS recommendation. While it is too late to mail in your proxy card, we urge you to use the INTERNET OR PHONE number listed on your GREEN proxy card to cast your vote if you have not done so already. Even if you have already voted, you may change your vote because only your latest dated vote counts. Sincerely yours, Q Funding III & Q4 Funding http://www.sec.gov/A...7/ltr010711.htm And their ad to run the 9th: http://www.sec.gov/A.../cfad010711.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Well I think Q get's a "F" for worst investor of the year. Q is creating negative press and lowering the price of the shares of FUN by their actions. No matter what CF may or may not be doing, Q's actions may be just as damaging to the success of CF and in turn FUN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Quite a bit to post and see this morning. First of all, Mr. Raynor personally answered three questions for the Sandusky Register: ...(1) Given that Cedar Fair plans to announce a new CEO for Cedar Fair within a few months, why is it important to also name a new chairman of the board?... Answers by both Raynor and Ms. Frole can be found at the link below...but....Too bad the Sandusky Register chose to decline national attention by reserving the other two questions and their answers to their print edition. (This is truly a blunder...a time when your site gets worldwide attention and hits and you try to direct the audience's attention to a product most cannot even get at any price today. As I have opined in the past, imbeciles must run that place). Interesting comments, too...which will change from time to time. Worth clicking back for... http://www.sanduskyr...eaks010911tjxml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Battle for Control of Cedar Fair Goes To Shareholders This Week: ...Knott family patriarch Stephen Knott said last week the northwest Ohio company "is really a mess right now. The management at Cedar Fair has not helped out the shareholders very much with some of the antics they've done the past year." He declined to say, though, which way on each proposal the family has cast its votes by proxy... http://toledoblade.c...ESS03/110109594 This is a very interesting, well written article that deserves to be read in full (and have others here quote other parts). I must quote the end though: ...Ms. Frole of Cedar Fair would not say what the company's board might do if the measures pass. But she indicated it would be unlikely the board would endorse the proposals. Cedar Fair "has to make decisions not only in the long term but also for what is best for all our shareholders," she said. As I have said from the beginning, given Cedar Fair's limited partnership structure, it appears the Board could jolly well ignore any unitholder action on either or both proposals. Of course, as also indicated in the article, what Q might do at that time is very difficult to divine as of now...I would not be Terpy, though, if I did not point out that that same Board (with the exception of the two new Q endorsed people) claimed it was doing what was 'best for all our shareholders' (her words) when it recommended that unitholders vote to force themselves out of owning the company for $11.50 per unit. Was that recommendation truly in the interests of 'all our shareholders' or just in that of the Chairman/CEO, his son and a few select others (some of whom just happened to be board members)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 USAToday has now picked up the AP story on the Tuesday vote...but illustrated it with a picture from atop the lift hill of a very famous long wooden roller coaster: http://www.usatoday....-showdown_N.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coney Islander Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Let alone letting go of his second-in-command for reasons the vast majority of people have yet to figure out and then lying about said second-in-command's sudden departure from the company to the shareholders/general public. Also, had that deal gone through, Apollo would have possibly followed on their own plans of acquiring the Six Flags properties and performed a massive liquidation, closing down possibly more than half of the 35 parks they would own. It seems to me that such a merger would have broken the Sherman Antitrust Act... Might the US government take action against any future Six Flags- Cedar Fair merger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Might it? Of course. Is it likely to take any action to stop it? No. Why? The first step in determining competition is to define the relevant market...and the companies would argue that is the amusement market...with everything from swimming pools to movie theaters to video games being a part of it. Moreover, there is virtually no competition between Cedar Fair and Six Flags for the entertainment dollar. They don't even compete in the same markets, with very limited exceptions. Almost no one says "I can get either a Six Flags pass or a Cedar Fair pass." Instead, they decide to either buy a theme park pass OR do a bunch of other entertainment stuff...including going to Disney or Universal.... Nor would a Six Flags/Cedar Fair behemoth have undue market power with ride vendors, as that market is now world-wide (and being largely driven by China and other newly developing markets, like the Mideast). Quite frankly, Six Flags was in major acquisition mode a few years back....if the Sherman Anti-Trust act were ever to be invoked in the amusement park business, that was probably the time....and it wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Today's Q filing with the SEC: The following statements have been made to the press on behalf of Q Funding III, L.P. and Q4 Funding, L.P.: "Fifty percent of all shares - it's a tremendous task." "The funds' officers want sound corporate governance at Cedar Fair and believe the company needs an independent chairman who can hold the CEO accountable." "The company has made a lot of mistakes, in our view. We think it's because there has been too much concentrated power at the top." "We're not looking to run the company and we don't want to be accused of trying to run this company. By not being on the board, that argument is off the table." An independent chairman "is especially important now because the company is in the midst of hiring a new CEO. We believe if Dick Kinzel remains Chairman, he will handpick a candidate to his personal liking and the board would just go along as it has done so many times in the past with many of his bad ideas. An independent chairman will examine the succession independently and not be biased. Additionally, this company may not attract the best candidate without an independent chairman given the current chairman's testy dispute with Jack Falfas, the previous No. 2 executive officer, over how his tenure came to an end." "We have held numerous companies for a number of years. If we were truly short-term holders, we would have sold out when Dick tried to sell the company to Apollo for $11.50. Instead, we chose to decline the 'take our money and run' approach and stick with this company because we knew what it could be worth in the long term. It appears to us that it is company management who wanted to sell out last fall, and they are the ones with the short-term focus." "We believe the company can afford a $1 distribution right now because the last time that the company had similar earnings in 2007, it was making a $1.92 distribution. Even with a $1 distribution, the company still would generate approximately $50 million of free cash flow in a normalized environment that it could use to pay down debt." http://www.sec.gov/A...press011011.htm Although Ms. Frole has also made statements to the press, no similar disclosure from FUN was filed today, at least so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Among other things in this article...Mr. Kinzel's 2009 compensation? About $4,100,000.00: http://www.cleveland...ng_tuesday.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Cedar Fair shareholders vote to change management structure The vote is too close to call on the cash distribution issue. So I wonder how Kinzel feels now? And, this is a non-binding vote. Will Cedar Fair go along with the recommendations of the vote? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/01/11/general-us-amusement-park-shake-up_8251359.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Cedar Fair has now issued a press release where they say they intend to separate the CEO/Chairman "roles in a prudent and appropriate manner." Translated, this means when they get around to it.: http://www.prnewswir...-113308069.html Cedar Fair ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF SPECIAL MEETING OF UNITHOLDERS • Preliminary voting results indicate that unitholders approve proposal to separate chairman and chief executive officer • Based upon preliminary voting results, the outcome of the proposal to make cash distributions a higher priority than debt reduction is too close to call SANDUSKY, OHIO, January 11, 2011 – Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, announced the preliminary voting results of today's Special Meeting of Unitholders to consider two amendments to the partnership agreement as proposed by Q Funding III, L.P. and Q4 Funding, L.P. ("Q Investments"). The Company stated that based upon the preliminary results unitholders voted in favor of Proposal #1, to separate the chairman and chief executive officer roles, and that the outcome of Proposal #2, to make cash distributions to unitholders a higher priority than paying down the Company's debt, was too close to call. The Company reminded unitholders that the results are still preliminary and subject to verification by the independent inspector of elections. The Company will announce the official results of today's Special Meeting of Unitholders after verification of the results by the independent inspector of elections. "We understand the concerns our unitholders have on Proposal #1 and intend to implement a policy in regard to the separation of the chairman and CEO roles in a prudent and appropriate manner. In regard to Proposal #2, we will evaluate and act accordingly once a final outcome of the vote has been determined," said Michael D. Kwiatkowski, Cedar Fair's lead independent director. About Cedar Fair Cedar Fair is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio, and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. Amusement parks in the Company's northern region include two in Ohio: Cedar Point, consistently voted "Best Amusement Park in the World" in Amusement Today polls, and Kings Island; as well as Canada's Wonderland, near Toronto; Dorney Park, PA; Valleyfair, MN; and Michigan's Adventure, MI. In the southern region are Kings Dominion, VA; Carowinds, NC; and Worlds of Fun, MO. Western parks in California include: Knott's Berry Farm; California's Great America; and Gilroy Gardens, which is managed under contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Q SAYS DISTRIBUTION PROPOSAL RECEIVED OVER 75 PERCENT APPROVAL OF THOSE WHO VOTED: http://www.rttnews.com/Content/QuickFacts.aspx?Id=1524860&SM=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 OK, I cant help it, Ive been waiting to be able to post this again once things were made official, and I bet if he looked outside, dh could likely see my smile from all the way down here in Plainfield, Indiana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If the cash distribution measure passed by that large of a margin, then why is Cedar Fair saying that it was too close to call? Are they trying to concoct what their next plan of attack is (and to secure necessary measures to pay out an increased distribution?) I think current managements lack of transparency with the removal of Falfas (and the error in the recently announced attendance figures of an increase in park spending has made many unit holders skeptical of current management). Not to mention, Cedar Fair seems to think that the majority of shareholders are short term investors, often quoting how the units have risen over the last year (while they are still down by a significant amount from their 2007 and 2008 totals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Maybe it's just me being skeptical, but what is to stop Cedar Fair from separating the roles by naming Kinzel Chairman and him hand picking a replacement CEO? Could this also mean he stays around beyond his current contract date - since he would have left the CEO role. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 From the last article that The Interpreter quoted: The proposal also requires that the chairman to be an independent director who is not, and has never been, a Cedar Fair officer. Wouldn`t that prevent Kinzel from remaining on as Chairman of the board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 If the cash distribution measure passed by that large of a margin, then why is Cedar Fair saying that it was too close to call?... Q may be being Qte (cute). 75 percent OF THOSE VOTING may NOT be a majority of the unit holders. Or, it may be Cedar Fair who is hoping against hope that 75 percent + of those voting does not equate to a majority of the unit holders. It's a nonbinding vote...but look how seriously they took this...if they don't do the 'right' things (whatever those are), the market will punish them....of that I am certain. And remember, they added two more directors (and diluted the votes of those who installed the existing directors) after only being politely pressured by Q. Not satisfy Q right now, you may not like what comes next. Mr. Raynor is not known for playing nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 It was a thrill ride gone bad for Cedar Fair LP's board and management...."Unitholders have spoken," Q Investments representative Scott McCarty said in a statement after the meeting. "The question now is, will the company finally listen?" Neither issue was binding on the Cedar Fair board, which met after the shareholder meeting.... http://toledoblade.com/article/20110112/BUSINESS03/101110398/-1/BUSINESS02 Well worthy of a full reading... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Video and comments here: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/news/2011/jan/11/cedar-fair-opts-new-ceo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Even after the Kinzel contract is over, I don't see him moving out of his house and retiring somewhere in Florida. I see him staying involved someway in the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 ^ Maybe back to food services? Seriously though, I am not surprised the first meassure passed, but am questioning the fact that the second meassure is either closely contested or a land-slide (depending on what side is speaking). I think the first meassure along with a continued focus on debt reduction is a sound strategy, but neglecting the debt could only produce short term results. Stock prices seems to like the new so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Well, at least Kinzel can say he shares something in common with Michael Eisner I'm just hoping CF can find their own Bob Iger somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 The Motley Fool: The Amusement Park Ride Isn't Over: ...Yes, investors haven't exactly forgiven Cedar Fair since it accepted a buyout proposal 13 months ago. It represented a 27% premium at the time, but the price is far lower than where Cedar Fair is today. Unit holders voted down the offer under activist prodding, and it turned out to be the right call. Winning back trust has been a challenge ever since. Making high quarterly disbursements a priority is nonsense, though. The thrill-park specialist recently reinitiated its distributions. Didn't these investors learn from Six Flags investors that were wiped out when its burdensome debt forced it into bankruptcy reorganization? Despite the seemingly good year for regional operators, the coast isn't exactly clear.... Elsewhere, Rick makes it clear he has no understanding about LP's or the fact these resolutions are at least hypothetically not binding...(at the risk of the court of financial public opinion and/or unit holder suits) http://www.fool.com/...-isnt-over.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muppetfan1999 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 ( This is an honest question.) So..... Now What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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