Kasas City Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift fiancé Travis Kelce is now a major investor in Six Flags. He has partnered with activist investor Jana Partners to take a 9% stake in the company. They plan to engage with the company’s board and management regarding opportunities to enhance shareholder value and improve the guest experience and the company seems willing to accept the help. Kelce was a fan of Cedar point as a child and wants future generations to have the same experience he did growing up.
“I am a lifelong Six Flags fan and grew up going to these parks with my family and friends. The chance to help make Six Flags special for the next generation is one I couldn’t pass up.”
Travis Kelce
Kelce also put out some home video from his childhood showing his time at the park as well as announcing his investment on social media. This type of exposure is hard to put a value on as this was essentially free influencer marketing. The video also features has brother and former NFL star Jason Kelce talking glowingly about Cedar Point and its coaster lineup. It was funny to hear though that Travis Kelce was scared of the big coasters and didn’t ride most of them until college!
The stock has been floundering in the year since the Cedar Fair merger, but initially popped 15% on the news. However it has since given all that back and more, so it will be interesting to see where this partnership goes in the future, especially with the Taylor Swift factor. She is not directly invested herself, but running in the same circles as one of the most famous stars on Earth is not a bad thing for Six Flags. A lot of marketing is a perception game too in that young people may give Six Flags brand another look figuring if it’s cool enough for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, it’s cool enough for me.
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