Terrifying New Ride Coming to Six Flags this summer: The Poorhouse

[marmar]

:scared:


from HuffPost:



Six Flags in Negotiations to Stave Off Chapter 11

By TIM ARANGO
Published: March 13, 2009


Will parents let their children ride a roller coaster owned by a bankrupt company?

Six Flags hopes it does not have to learn the answer.

Six Flags, the big theme park chain that is closely associated with the owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder, has a payment of nearly $300 million to holders of preferred stock due this year that it has no way of paying. So for several months now, the company, which is run by Mark S. Shapiro, and its advisers have been discussing a restructuring agreement with its bondholders that would keep the company out of bankruptcy court.

“We’re in active dialogue with our lenders to restructure our enormous debt load,” said Mr. Shapiro, the former head of programming and production at ESPN. “The debt load we inherited is stifling our growth.”

Outside the glare of government bailouts for big banks and federal support for automakers are companies like Six Flags, whose day-to-day businesses may be solid but whose balance sheet is loaded with debt that was piled on during the credit boom but cannot be supported by cash flow from operations. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/business/14flags.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. rec and kick for thread title

[izquierdista]

2. “The debt load we inherited is stifling our growth.”

I would put that in the "No shit, Sherlock" category. Maybe he could get a chair at the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies Stupidities. Oh, I forgot, according to them, "deficits don't matter".

[AlCzervik]

3. 6 flags in Vallejo is supposed to be closing, too bad because the Medusa is a great roller coaster.

[kimmerspixelated]

4. Wouldn't a major discount once the season opens

help to pay it off? People will flock to great deals, these days, right?

[Ron Green]

5. Ahh, I remember visiting the original Six Flags (Over Texas) in the 60's,

when the scariest ride was the Log Flume.

[ddeclue]

6. Damn! and I thought this was gonna be an Onion gutbuster...

the title suggests a fabulous parody to me!

:(