I humbly suggest that yet again perhaps Mr. Kinzel misspoke

You can't fault him, he isn't a "finance guy."

I've decided to bump this topic with a few questions I've had in mind.

I know Mr. Kinzel considers himself an "operations guy," but do his supporters still own a majority of the company stock? Does Mr. Kinzel still have overwhelming control of the company operations? I'd think, with all the turmoil within Cedar Fair, others would be trying desperately to gain overall control, maybe wanting to change the way Cedar Fair deals. (With debt, marketing, capital improvements, etc...)

If unit owners are really that dissatisfied with Mr. Kinzel's performance, why are they keeping him as CEO?

Stay tuned...Q has asked for a special meeting to consider splitting the CEO and Chairman positions.

Mr. K is scheduled to retire in the not too distant future...and he may or may not still have both positions at the time he retires.

Remember, too, that Cedar Fair is a limited partnership...as such, the unitholders in the limited partnership have very little say in the day to day operations of the company, far less than if FUN were a corporation.

Well, for now he is CEO and Chairman. But Q has other intentions, wanting him to at least vacate the position of Chairman of the board. I think the writing maybe on the wall for Kinzel. I mean, he isn`t exactly a spring chicken anymore, since he is 70. I also disagree with Q (they want to pay a larger cash distribution, instead of paying down more of the companies debt). I think for the long term health of the company, it would be wisest to pay down the debt now, and re-establish larger distributions at some point in the future. The current 25 cent distribution is merely there to offset the tax liability that unit holders incur because of the way the limited partnership is set up.

EDIT: I was typing my response when The Interpreter was posting.

So Kinzel and friends, in a sense, form an oligarchy over the entire Cedar Fair Entertainment Company?

In that case, an eventual coup d'état must be imminent.

Popcorn, ready!

It would be a fair statement, as Q states in its prospectus, that a country club type atmosphere exists on the current board ...or at least did....(Mr. Kinzel largely hand picked it)

I think we will soon be hearing about the exit of Mr. K and the big chunk of unused capital expenditure that goes with him.

Just read this today and it got me thinking about this topic:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/10/29/7-reasons-to-worry-about-next-week.aspx

Cedar Fair is the amusement park operator behind Cedar Point in Ohio, Knott's Berry Farm in California, and several other regional attractions. Cedar Fair was able to shake off a hostile takeover attempt by private-equity giant Apollo Global Management earlier this year. It was the right call, since the units are trading higher today, but shouldn't earnings be improving? This is the telltale summer report for a highly seasonal company. If the economy is in better shape now than it was a year ago, why are the turnstile clicks not turning into bottom-line growth?

Indeed.

Cedar Fair is the amusement park operator behind Cedar Point in Ohio, Knott's Berry Farm in California, and several other regional attractions. Cedar Fair was able to shake off a hostile takeover attempt by private-equity giant Apollo Global Management earlier this year. It was the right call, since the units are trading higher today, but shouldn't earnings be improving? This is the telltale summer report for a highly seasonal company. If the economy is in better shape now than it was a year ago, why are the turnstile clicks not turning into bottom-line growth?

Indeed.

Wow. Got no more to say... Just wow.

Actually, I think the worst quote for FUN in that article is this one:

...These seven companies have seen better days. The market has rewarded many of these stocks with reasonable gains over the past year, but they still haven't earned those upticks....

(FUN is one of those seven companies, but not the FUN & ONLY)

Kinzel's Days Numbered: Cedar Fair begins succession plans

http://www.sanduskyr...lace120810tjxml

See also:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23176

and

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23087