HURON, Ohio — Proposals to allow shareholders nominate board members of Cedar Fair LP were not approved Thursday during a special meeting of shareholders held at Bowling Green State University's Firelands Campus.
At the 15-minute meeting, company Chief Executive Dick Kinzel said that the first of two proposals to change company rules to let shareholders nominate board candidates did not receive the 80 percent approval threshold needed to pass. A second proposal that would create new rules for nominating was approved, but since the first proposal failed, neither proposal was enacted. Cedar Fair said it could not yet report exact vote totals, but would do so later.
The company's largest shareholder, a pair of Texas hedge funds known collectively as Q Investments, had requested the special meeting to change the nominating procedure and Cedar Fair had sponsored the two proposals voted upon Thursday.
After the meeting, a representative of Q Investments said that the shareholder had filed a request Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asking Cedar Fair to replace its governing general partner with a new one that would allow shareholders to nominate board candidates. A Cedar Fair spokesman said the company had not seen the filing.
During the special meeting, attended by about 100 shareholders, Mr. Kinzel offered an open invitation to a Q Investments representative to meet with company board members Thursday to discuss the nominating issue, or any other subject the shareholder wished. Q Investments indicated that they were uncertain if the additional meeting would happen.
In March, Q Investments requested Thursday's special meeting and also filed a lawsuit to force the issue. Mr. Kinzel told shareholders that the lawsuit was Q Investments' sixth against Cedar Fair over the last 12 months, and that the company had spent $3 million in legal fees defending itself.
The amusement park company, which owns Cedar Point in Sandusky, Kings Island near Cincinnati, and amusement and water parks throughout the United States and Canada, has its annual shareholders meeting scheduled for July 7.
Contact Jon Chavez at:
jchavez@theblade.com
or 419-724-6128
First Published June 2, 2011, 2:14 p.m.
