In SEC filings, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder express dissatisfaction with the way the company is run.

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 5, 2004

BY STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press

Pressure from Microsoft chairman and shareholder Bill Gates over a sagging financial outlook and news that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has bought nearly 9 percent of Six Flags, Inc. drove the amusement park company's shares up more than 25 percent Tuesday.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by his Cascade Investment firm, Gates, who owns 11.5 percent of Six Flag stock, said he was "increasingly dissatisfied" with the company's financial performance.

The filing says Gates plans to press company officials for answers on Six Flags' decision-making process and finances, which include a stock price that has plunged in recent months. It also states that Gates may seek to have another person placed on Six Flags' board of directors.

In a separate SEC filing Monday, Snyder reported that between Aug. 11 and Aug. 30, he bought 8.15 million shares of Six Flags for roughly $34.5 million through his investment vehicle Red Zone.

In the filing, Snyder said he believes that Six Flags shares are undervalued, and that company officials have not done enough to outpace competitors in the amusement park industry.

"The company's management has failed to implement measures to increase revenues and decrease expenses, and its failure to do so has caused the company to be continuously outperformed by its peers," the filing reads.

Snyder said he may seek a spot on the company's board, and could push Six Flags to merge or sell part of its assets.

The Wall Street Journal, citing "people close" to Snyder, reported Tuesday that the Redskins owner wanted to revamp Six Flags marketing through techniques he used to make the Redskins one of the most valuable teams in professional sports. Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999 for $800 million. In 2000, he sold his marketing company, Snyder Communications, to the French company Havas SA for $2 billion.

Six Flags' stock tumbled in July when the Oklahoma City-based company reported that attendance was 4 percent lower than the same time last year, prompting Six Flags to lower its outlook. Six Flags shares traded at around $7 per share before the news, but fell to about $4 per share late last month.