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'Thomas O. Hicks' (born 1946 in Port Arthur, Texas), 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, Mesquite Championship Rodeo and also owns fifty percent of the English football team Liverpool FC.
The father of six children, Hicks and his wife Cinda reside in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of north Dallas.

Contents

Biography

Retirement

Politics

Tom Hicks Elementary School

Sports

Dallas Stars

Texas Rangers

Liverpool F.C.

References

External links

Biography

The son of a Texas radio station owner, Hicks graduated from the Thomas Jefferson High School, class of 1964 in Port Arthur, Tx. Hicks, as a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon^[1], received his Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Texas in 1968, and his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1970^[2].
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 $10-million to $250-million level, including^[3]:

★ 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 $20 million 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^[4]
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)^[4]. 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^[6].
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 Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani^[7]

Tom Hicks Elementary School

Tom Hicks Elementary School in Frisco, Texas, part of the Lewisville Independent School District, was given its name after Hicks donated the necessary land for the school^[8].

Sports

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^[9].

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.^[10]

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 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 takeover of the English Premiership club Liverpool F.C; this takeover bid was thought to be the front runner after Dubai International Capital pulled out of the bidding^[11].
On February 6, 2007, Hicks & Gillett's joint offer for Liverpool was formally accepted, valuing the club at £218.9m ($432.9m) (£5,000 per share and £44.8m in debt).^[12]. This action made Liverpool the third FA Premier League club to fall under U.S. ownership, the others being Aston Villa and Manchester United. After the bid was accepted, Hicks made it clear that his top priority is silverware, and vowed to build a new stadium for the club at Stanley Park Stadium. Commenting on the offer, George Gillett and Tom Hicks said: “Liverpool is a fantastic club with a remarkable history and a passionate fan base. We fully acknowledge and appreciate the unique heritage and rich history of Liverpool and intend to respect this heritage in the future. The Hicks family and the Gillett family are extremely excited about continuing the Club’s legacy and tradition"^[13]. Despite this, Hicks has still caused some uneasiness by referring to Liverpool as the "Liverpool Reds" and a "franchise".[2] He also compared the purchase of Liverpool to a previous business deal which saw him buy the breakfast cereal company Weetabix.[3]
Hicks lives in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of north Dallas.

References

1. http://www.texasifc.org/famousalums.htm
2. http://www.dallasstars.com/stars/bio-hicks.jsp
3. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_26/b3990073.htm
4. http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/hicks.html
5. http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/hicks.html
6. http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_profile.cfm?pioneer_ID=789
7. http://www.greatdreams.com/2008/rudolph_giuliani.htm
8. http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/tx/8845
9. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/01/08/archive/main69.shtml
10.
[1]
11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6318091.stm
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6323037.stm
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6323037.stm

External links

★

★ Bio at Dallas Stars

★ Foreign Owners in Football