• Washington Post, Friday, March 13, 2009 11 AM

Six Flags, which owns 20 theme parks across the U.S., may seek bankruptcy court protection if it can't restructure some of its obligations by mid-August, Alejandro Lazo reports. As part of an attempted turnaround orchestrated by president and CEO Mark Shapiro, a former ESPN programming chief, the company has tried to make its parks cleaner and more family-oriented.

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder became chairman of the company three years ago as part of a broader expansion into a variety of entertainment properties. "It is a good business with a bad balance sheet," says Christopher Snow, an analyst with the firm CreditSights.

One of Snyder's private equity firms bought Johnny Rockets, the restaurant chain known for its 1950s-themed diners, in 2007, then added those restaurants to the Six Flags parks. The company also bought Dick Clark Productions, the television home of the Golden Globe Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and "American Bandstand," hoping to feature some of those in the parks.

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