The Interpreter Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Article contains a MAJOR error, which is not like Mr. Munnariz at all... http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/c...m?ref=foolwatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Get the EX Paramount Parks in line? Get them in line for what? Granted that Paramount/CBS/Viacom were not the greatest custodians of the parks, but they're hardly this down and out chain that CF swept in to rescue! Please!!!! Who is this clown????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 3, 2006 Author Share Posted July 3, 2006 Read ALL the article. He says the Paramount Parks were in good shape, unlike Geauga Lake. And this clown is one of the best respected financial writers in the country. Thus, his role as a fool at the Motley bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I think that was more to emphasize his point about how Cedar Fair has struggled with turning around Geauga Lake. In the next paragraph, he goes onto say that the parks are in good shape and won`t take much tweaking. The major error in his article is in reference to the Great Wolf Lodge. Cedar Fair did not acquire the interest that Paramount Parks had in that property, built on the former Kings Island Campground. CBS retained ownership of their stake in the property (15%) which, IMO doesn`t make much sense. I guess they are figuring to capitalize on having a minority stake in it without having to worry about running it, like they did with the Paramount Parks. I wouldn`t be surprised in the next five to ten years if Cedar Fair doesn`t try and buy the 15% stake from CBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 3, 2006 Author Share Posted July 3, 2006 Righto! CoastersRZ nailed it. There should be a correction issued soon....I actually contacted the "fool" and let him know of the error... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Read ALL the article. He says the Paramount Parks were in good shape, unlike Geauga Lake. And this clown is one of the best respected financial writers in the country. Thus, his role as a fool at the Motley bunch. Sounds Mathy to Me! Never Trust a Financial Person! <G> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 The major error in his article is in reference to the Great Wolf Lodge. Cedar Fair did not acquire the interest that Paramount Parks had in that property, built on the former Kings Island Campground. CBS retained ownership of their stake in the property (15%) which, IMO doesn`t make much sense. I guess they are figuring to capitalize on having a minority stake in it without having to worry about running it, like they did with the Paramount Parks. I wouldn`t be surprised in the next five to ten years if Cedar Fair doesn`t try and buy the 15% stake from CBS. My guess is that Cedar Fair probably didn't feel comfortable with a partnership with a company whom they compete directly against (at least in the Sandusky market). However, I bet they'd love to be the sole owners of that property at KI. Prior to the Paramount deal being announced, I always thought CF should buy Great Wolf (the whole company)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 But didn`t Great Wolf sell all but a minority interest in their Sandusky location to help fund the development of other Great Wolf lodges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 Yes, but a minority interest is still an interest that could have caused problems with certain government approvals needed to transfer control of the Paramount Parks, unless either: a- at Sandusky, Great Wolf were to cast away its interest or b- Cedar Fair did not obtain the CBS interest in the Great Wolf at Mason. After any review, there is little doubt the transaction would have been approved, but antitrust reviews can take months and months, even years; if there are any substantial issues to be reviewed. Since potential for reduced competition in the waterpark business in Mason, Ohio was no longer an issue, there was no need for a longer review based on that issue. Wouldn't surprise me too much if the CBS interest in Great Wolf at Mason was sold off soon, perhaps even to Cedar Fair. There is no longer the intense need for speed that both CBS and Cedar Fair were experiencing on the main transaction. On the other hand, it's a very minor percentage interest and requires little supervision or management. Then again, if that isn't unrelated to CBS's 'core' businesses, I don't know what is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Yeah, CF/CBS weren't going to do anything that would give any of the agencies pause for approving that deal. Plus, at this point, it's not an investment that really costs CBS anything...their investement was the donation of the land (which was a pre-CBS transaction), and they have no operational responsibility. Obviously, the "missing" 35 acres at PKI did nothing to hurt the acquisition price of Paramount Parks... So, at this point CBS can just bide their time on this investment. (That being said, however, I'm sure they'd be happy to unload it at the first serious opportunity.) Yeah, CoastersRZ, GWL sold off substantial interest in Sandusky and several other properties. (Including Niagra Falls which they sold outright to Ripley's.) Their business is one of high upfront construction costs, and they're not exactly rolling in the cash. While their IPO was considered successful, they weren't able to deliver the kind of growth from the proceeds that they indicated in the prospectus, and as such got hit with shareholder lawsuits. That (among other reasons) is why I think they could be easily in play. I really thought there were some great synergies there for Cedar Fair (who are already doing 40% of GWL's annual revenues in their own hotels), but that doesn't seem very likely now. It could be a good match for Blackstone (the odds on favorite when it comes to buying hotels <g>), or maybe even Ripley's since they've indicated a desire to expand their brand. Or, maybe we could take up a collection on PKIC to raise $300M (or so) and buy them ourselves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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