Tom Hicks

For the English cricketer, see Tom Hicks (cricketer).

Thomas O. Hicks (born 1946) is a Dallas businessman.

Hicks co-founded the investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, and is chairman of Hicks Inc, which owns and operates Southwest Sports Group, the company that owns the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Stars and the Mesquite Championship Rodeo.

The father of six children, Hicks and his wife Cinda reside in Dallas. Hicks ranked No. 350 on the 2003 "Forbes 400 Richest Americans" list, with an estimated net worth of $725 million.

The knobhead just bought livepool too. Lefty

Biography

The son of a Texas radio station owner, Hicks graduated from the Thomas Jefferson High School, class of 1964. Hicks as a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon received his Bachelors degree from the University of Texas in 1968, and his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1970.

Hicks became interested in leveraged buyouts as a member of First National Bank's venture capital group. Hicks and Robert Haas formed Hicks & Haas in 1984; the next year that firm bought Hicks Communications, a radio outfit run by Hicks' brother Steven - the first of many media companies bought or created by the buyout firm, often with Steven Hicks' involvement.

Hicks & Haas' in the mid-1980s bought several soft drink makers, including Dr Pepper and 7 Up. The firm took Dr Pepper/7 Up public just 18 months after merging the two companies. In all, Hicks & Haas turned $88 million of investor funding into $1.3 billion. The pair split up in 1989; Hicks wanted to raise a large pool to invest, but Haas preferred to work deal by deal.

In 1989, Hicks co-founded the investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst with former Prudential Securities banker John Muse. The firm raised $250 million, with early investments including Life Partners Group (life insurance, 1990; sold 1996). In 1991 Morgan Stanley's Charles Tate and First Boston's Jack Furst became partners. Hicks was chairman from 1989 to 2004, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst raised $12 billion of private equity funds, consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions, and was one of the most active private investment firms in the country.

But the business hit a rough patch by the early 2000s, when investors in Equity Fund IV were burned by a $1.2 billion plunge into telecom investments in 1999. Hicks announced that he would leave the firm on March 8, 2004 to spend more time with his family and his sports teams.

Retirement

Hicks formed Hicks Holdings, a vehicle for his billion-dollar sports and real estate empire, and then started buying companies again in the $10million to $250million level, including:

• electronics firm with 1,000 employees in China
• started a new venture with DirecTV selling bundled TV-telecom services to condos
• landscaping materials in the Midwest
• pet food in Argentina
• Gammaloy - an oil field rental outfit he bought from his wife's family, paying $20million in the early 1990s

Politics

Hicks first appeared on the political scene when he donated $17,500 to Ann Richards, the then Governor of Texas. He was subsequently appointed to the University of Texas Board of Regents by Governor Richards in 1994

After Richards was defeated in 1994 by George W. Bush, Hicks shifted his donations to Bush. Hicks gave $146,000 to Bush in both of his gubernatorial campaigns. Hicks Muse had long wanted to tap the $13-billion University of Texas endowment for its takeover deals. As George W. Bush assumed the Texas governor’s office in 1995, Hicks was confirmed as a University of Texas Regent and hired lobbyists to push a bill creating the UT Investment Management Co. (UTIMCO). With Hicks as its first chair, and Clear Channel Chair L. Lowry Mays and the Pioneers Tom Loeffler, A.W. Riter, and Tony Sanchez; UTIMCO contracted private investment firms to manage portions of the endowment. A scandal blew up when the media discovered that UTIMCO awarded many of these lucrative contracts to firms tied to Hicks and Bush, with the main benficiaries Lee Bass, Charles Wyly and Robert Grady.

In 1998, Hicks bought the Texas Rangers from a consortia headed by George W. Bush. Having made Bush a multi-millionaire, Hicks Muse Tate and Furst became Bush’s No. 4 career patron in 1999, according to the Center for Public Integrity. In 1999, Hicks and his brother merged their media interests into AMFM Inc., which was later acquired by Clear Channel Communications. Hicks became vice chair of Clear Channel, a major potential beneficiary of 2003 plans by Bush’s Federal Communication Commission to relax media ownership rules. In 2003, the Texas Rangers revealed that Hicks met privately with President Bush to pitch Rangers Ballpark land as a site for the President’s future presidential library.

Hicks is presently a member of the political action committee for the 2008 presidential election campaign for former Republican Governor of New York, Rudy Giuliani

Tom Hicks Elementary School

Tom Hicks Elementary School in Frisco, Texas, part of the Lewisville Independent School District, is named after him when Hicks donated the necessary land for the school.

Sports

Hicks has developed a deep interest in sports franchises, and has invested in their facilities and team much to the delight of fans. His nephew Dr. Andrew Hicks is also very successful and wealthy and owns the Atlanta Hawks.

Hicks moved from the business pages to the sports section in December 1995 when he bought the National Hockey League Dallas Stars for $82 million.

Dallas Stars

Seven Division Championships, three Western Conference crowns, two Presidents' Trophies as the team with the best regular season record, two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals and the 1999 Stanley Cup Championship are the highlights of the Dallas Stars' rapid ascent in the 11 years since Thomas O. Hicks contracted to purchase the hockey club in December 1995. Mr. Hicks serves as the Stars' Chairman of the Board and the club's representative on the NHL Board of Governors, and also played an instrumental role in the development and planning of American Airlines Center [1].

Texas Rangers

In June 1998, Hicks became the Chairman and Owner of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club of the Major League Baseball’s American League. Hicks purchased the team for $250 million from an investment group that included then-Texas Governor George W. Bush. After the purchase, Hicks changed his large political donations to Bush for the 2000 Presidential election. Under Hicks ownership, the Rangers won the American League West Division crown in 1996, 1998 and 1999, but failed to deliver a World Series. After retirement from Hicks Muse Tate and Furst, and with the Rangers finished in last place in its division in 2003, Hicks promised to rebuild the team, shipping Alex Rodriguez ($252 million over 10 years) to the New York Yankees. Hicks serves on the Board of Directors of MLB Advanced Media, the internet-based subsidiary of Major League Baseball.

Liverpool F.C.

On February 1, 2007, it was made known through the English press that he was behind a consortium along with friend and Montreal Canadiens owner George N. Gillett Jr. to complete a deal thought to be worth in the region of £435 million to takeover the English Premiership club Liverpool F.C which has become the front runner after Dubai International Capital pulled out the reckoning. Hicks is now set to complete his takeover of the English club after the breakdown in talks between the club's board and DIC On February 06 2007, Hicks & Gillett's joint offer for the club was formally accepted. making Liverpool the third FA Premier League outfit to fall under U.S. ownership (the others being AVFC & MUFC) On the 06/02/07, at 2pm in a press conference it was declared that the bid had been successful. As one of the joint owners, he has made it clear that his top priority is silverware.

External links

• Template:Nndb
• Bio at Dallas Stars