Six Flags goes Bankrupt

[sir clinksalot]

Six Flags declared Bankruptcy today, but the news was not entirely unexpected, nor is it in any way signaling the end for the company.

First a report about the actual filing:

Six Flags, a Gates investment, seeks Chapter 11 - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

Six Flags’ (OTCBB: SIXF) board of directors on June 12 voted to begin reorganization proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company listed assets of $3.03 billion and debts of $2.36 billion in its filing.

Cascade Investments, the Kirkland-based investment firm for Bill Gates, owns 11.1 percent of the voting securities in the New York-based company, bankruptcy documents show. Cascade Investments is listed as the largest holder of voting securities, followed by Citigroup Inc. at 9.1 percent and Barclays PLC at 6.65 percent.

The values of the holdings were unstated. However, Six Flags has 97.7 million shares of common stock and 1.1 million shares of preferred stock. Six Flags’ stock closed June 12 at 26 cents a share. That suggests Cascade Investments' stake in Six Flags could be worth about $2.8 million.

And from the Six Flags website, just what this means to their patrons and stock-holders.

Six Flags: Frequently Asked Questions

Our parent company is restructuring its debt as part of our long-term growth plan. We'd like to tell you what it all means.

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU

The restructuring will have no impact on our local parks. Every park will see upgrades in 2009,
including new rides and attractions, more and better-trained staff, longer park hours, expanded shopping and dining options, and performances by top musical acts—all at a great price for families watching their budgets. If you have any further questions, please contact your local park, or see our Restructuring FAQ below.

WHAT IT MEANS TO US

This restructuring will help our parent company eliminate debt and build for the future. It will have no impact on the day-to-day operations of our local parks. Our parks are profitable, but they have been burdened for too long with too much debt. Reducing our debt and interest expenses will allow us to build on the substantial progress we've made over the past three years and realize our extraordinary growth potential.

We've had a busy spring, and our guests have given us top marks for customer satisfaction two years in a row. This means we can continue the massive upgrade program we started in 2006. We're hiring more staff, expanding hours, and improving service and attractions at all our parks. We're doing all this so we can give you the very best value in family entertainment.

An Open Letter From Our CEO to All Employees


WHAT IT MEANS TO SIX FLAGS EMPLOYEES

All of our employees will continue to be paid in full and on time. All benefits, including pensions, will be unaffected. No reduction in work force will arise out of this restructuring process.

[Rex Dopey24]

at least they are going to upgrade some of the parks which is a good thing.

[Disney Wrassler]

Oh, you beat me to it Clinks. Merge my thread in the 6 Flags forum with this one .

[sir clinksalot]

^ It's okay, we can have it on both.

[mechurchlady]

Time for everyone to run to Magic Mountain and take pictures and get souvenirs. In a land needing housing they could easily sell Magic Mountain for a lot of money. It is freeway close and thus worth a quarter billion maybe. I know there are land developers with plans for that site.

[Ride Warrior]

I am so happy that Six Flags parks are operating while that this bankruptcy is simply in order for them to restructure and become more fiscally efficient.

Six Flags is smarter than the banking, insurance and automotive industries lumped together. None of them seem capable of filing a Chapter 11 and restructuring. All that they know how to do is to ask the federal government to bail them out, and to run their companies for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them...bail them out again, and run their companies even more for them.....and then either agree with the government and unions to run them completely, or else file for final bankruptcy and sell their respective companies to other entities...after having blown off billions in taxpayer dollars.

Seems like these days, people don't attend college in order to start a meaningful career. There are no jobs, no entry level careers, and there isn't any meaning. American students attend college in order to understand how it is (through their studies and learned skills) that they are being ripped off by government, unions and corporations...so that they can gripe about it while using professional terms, historical knowledge and statistical facts.

Meanigless non-job producing degrees are well worth the thousands of dollars per capita for tuition and books...and the thousands in owed dollars per capita for the increasing numbers of students that have to take out student loans.

If the United States isn't Hell, can somebody please tell me what Hell is?...and what qualifies it as being worse?!

[Radiobarry]

What, no federal bailout?

Guess that Terminator Ride is the ultimate economic stimulus.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by Radiobarry

What, no federal bailout?

Guess that Terminator Ride is the ultimate economic stimulus.

The killer whales at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom rid the economic waters of the need for government bailouts.

[brand42]

Originally Posted by mechurchlady

Time for everyone to run to Magic Mountain and take pictures and get souvenirs. In a land needing housing they could easily sell Magic Mountain for a lot of money. It is freeway close and thus worth a quarter billion maybe. I know there are land developers with plans for that site.

I have a better idea. Why not build car dealerships on the property? The auto industry is just booming right now!!


I got a mass email for Six Flags Magic Mountain pass holders from Jay Thomas, the park president, this morning.

Among other things, it provided a link to the Six Flags restructuring FAQ and assured us that SFMM would be open all season long. It's one of the more profitable parks in the chain. It's not going anywhere.

[Retrocool]

Originally Posted by mechurchlady

Time for everyone to run to Magic Mountain and take pictures and get souvenirs. In a land needing housing they could easily sell Magic Mountain for a lot of money. It is freeway close and thus worth a quarter billion maybe. I know there are land developers with plans for that site.

Yeah, because the real estate market in California is just SO desperate for any possible available land right now! It's TOTALLY a seller's market and land prices have never been higher!

[SCUBAbe]

Originally Posted by Retrocool

Yeah, because the real estate market in California is just SO desperate for any possible available land right now! It's TOTALLY a seller's market and land prices have never been higher!

no kidding,. We have houses sitting for sell for months where I live and entire new houses tracks sitting empty. I've heard some have gone hud....

[aimster]

There's a house next door to my complex that's been up for sale for OVER TWO YEARS. Beautiful house. They're probably asking too much for it.

[Nick]

nevermind

[Retrocool]

In related news, Nigerian embassy personnel want you to help them receive millions of dollars in funds that were stolen from their care many years ago during an aborted military coup. They seek you, kind sir or madam, as only a total stranger can help them.

[Browncoat]

o....kay......