More activist investors are circling Six Flags, as the company's stock price slides.
JANA Partners announced today that it has acquired approximately 9% of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, in conjunction with its management and celebrity partners. And that celebrity is a big name - NFL and podcast and celebrity gossip A-lister Travis Kelce.
"I am a lifelong Six Flags fan and grew up going to these parks with my family and friends," Kelce said. "The chance to help make Six Flags special for the next generation is one I couldn't pass up."
Kelce is a native of the Cleveland area, near Six Flags' Cedar Point theme park and the now-closed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, also known as Geauga Lake. He played college football in Cincinnati, which is the home to Kings Island. And he now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, not far from Worlds of Fun.
Also aboard the investor group are FIS Holdings CEO Glenn Murphy, who is a former CEO of Gap, Inc., and Dave Habiger, the former CEO at J.D. Power who also serves as Chairman of Reddit's board of directors. Heading the group is JANA Managing Partner Scott Ostfeld.
"We look forward to working with the Six Flags board and management to unlock shareholder value for the benefit of all stakeholders," Ostfeld said.
The news of the investment boosted Six Flags' stock price, which jumped nearly 18% today after dropping 56% since the start of 2025. Other investment groups have obtained board seats at Six Flags, which has announced the departure of its CEO and its Executive Chairman by the end of the year.
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Maybe he'll finally push an RMC for timber wolf since he lives in the area.
Any attempt by so-called activist investors to exert influence over a company stokes my fear as a consumer, since activist investors almost always seem to demand a company cut spending on labor and investment and then sell assets in order to pump a short term gain that the investors can take by dumping the stock.
That said, I cannot imagine a more effective celebrity partner that a Six Flags investor could bring on board - one who seems like they actually have been to and enjoyed a Six Flags/Cedar Fair park - than Kelce. I've never met the man, but I know a lot of people from Cleveland... and every one of them adores Cedar Point.
Swiftywood?
I'm with Robert here. It doesn't matter the background or popularity of an investor, when celebrities are being leveraged as part of investor groups, it's almost always for a short term gain. I'm by no means a Travis Kelsey fan (some of his antics against the Ravens over the years have made him enemy #1), but I respect his career and his genuine fondness for his past experiences at Six Flags (or more realistically legacy Cedar Fair parks). Celebrities like Kelsey don't want to see their investments fail, but they're also rarely in it for the long term (though I'm honestly shocked to see Ryan Reynolds still actively involved with Wrexham). However, I still think investor groups like this are NEVER interested in setting a company up for long term success, they only want to get a short term gain. Six Flags has had decades of mismanagement that will not be solved with a small group of investors trying to make changes with short term goals. Ultimately, this group will be just like the others who invest some cash to try to change the company's fortunes only to realize the rate of return is far slower than they anticipated and either start cutting costs for a cash out, or cash out early when they recognize the theme park business in a "long game".
I guess we can be hopeful that this group can bring some positivity to the company and perhaps provide some ideas to improve the guest experience, though there's no guarantee that any of those changes would stick if they're not deemed profitable enough.
Imagine being activist for six flags
Swift Flags!
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Now that they've got the Travis Kelce PR stock bump now is a good time to sell after 1 day of ownership.