NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Six Flags, Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors decided not to declare and pay a quarterly dividend on its outstanding Preferred Income Equity Redeemable Securities ("PIERS") for the quarter ending November 15, 2008, each such PIERS representing one one-hundredth of a share of the Company's 7 1/4% Convertible Preferred Stock.
Under the terms of the PIERS, dividends are not required to be paid currently and any unpaid dividends accumulate without interest. The Board's decision not to declare and pay the November 15, 2008 dividend does not violate any covenants under any of the Company's debt agreements. The Company's deficit in stockholders' equity(1), the overall state of the credit markets and the fact that unpaid dividends accumulate on an interest-free basis, were factors that the Board considered in reaching its decision not to declare and pay the quarterly dividend. The Board will continue to evaluate all facts and circumstances, including relevant legal restrictions, prior to any future PIERS payments.
About Six Flags
Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company with 20 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Founded in 1961, Six Flags has provided world class entertainment for millions of families with cutting-edge, record-shattering roller coasters and appointment programming and special events such as the weekly Summer Concert Series, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park. Now 47 years strong, Six Flags is recognized as the preeminent thrill innovator while reaching to all demographics -- families, teens, tweens and thrill seekers alike -- with themed attractions based on the Looney Tunes characters, the Justice League of America, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, The Wiggles and Thomas the Tank Engine. Six Flags, Inc. is a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in New York City.
Forward Looking Statements:
The information contained in this news release, other than historical information, consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, Six Flags' success in implementing its new business strategy. Although Six Flags believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors, including factors impacting attendance, such as local conditions, events, disturbances and terrorist activities, risk of accidents occurring at Six Flags' parks, adverse weather conditions, general economic conditions (including consumer spending patterns), competition, pending, threatened or future legal proceedings and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from Six Flags' expectations. Reference is made to a more complete discussion of forward-looking statements and applicable risks contained under the captions "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Six Flags' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which is available free of charge on Six Flags' website http://www.sixflags.com/.
1. As disclosed in its 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company adopted EITF Topic D-98 "Classification and Measurement of Redeemable Securities," as amended at the March 12, 2008 meeting of the Emerging Issues Task Force. The adoption of this accounting pronouncement required a $382.4 million non-cash reduction to stockholders' equity, resulting in a $252.6 million stockholders' deficit as of December 31, 2007.
