George N. Gillett Jr.

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George N. Gillett Jr. II (born October 22, 1938) is an American businessman.

Building his fortune through sports franchises and meat production with an estimated fortune of around £2bn or more with his assets.Gillett and his wife Rose live in Vail, Colorado and have four sons: George III, Alexander and twins Foster and Andrew (the latter twin is the only son not involved in the family business)[1].

Contents

[edit] Biography

Gillett attended Amherst College and is a graduate of Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin.

In 1979 he launched Gillett Communications by buying three small television stations. Three years later he bought the WSM television station in Nashville. In 1984 Gillett acquired Post Corporation's eight television stations, 22 newspapers and associated plant; the non-broadcast assets were sold to Thomson Corporation and other buyers. In 1987 he acquired Storer Broadcasting using Kohlberg Kravis Roberts junk bonds, after the FCC lifted restrictions on ownership.

In 1985 Gillett acquired Vail Associates' Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts, creating a new era with focus on customer service, Gillett redefined the ski experience and what it meant to be a world class resort. George would often ride chairlifts and greeting guests, and launched a massive installation of high-speed detachable chairlifts thereby kick-starting the growth that would put Vail on the map as America's number one ski destination. Gillett also supported major alpine ski events at a time when most ski areas in American declined to host international races, starting with the 1989 World Alpine Ski Championships, and through his support hosted the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships[2].

Gillett's companies sought Chapter 11 protection in 1992 as higher interest rates penalised junk bond issuers. Gillett's media arm was reorganised as New World Communications under the control of Ronald Perelman.

[edit] After junk bonds

After resultantly declaring bankruptcy, but remaining on the payroll of Vail Resort at $1.5 million a year, Gillett walked away with $32.1 million to restart his business empire when Vail floated on the NYSE the following year[3]. In 1995 he repurchased Packerland undertaken by Booth Creek Management Corp., a company created to oversee the acquisitions and management of interests of the Gillett family from that point forwards, and of which Gillett remains Chairman.

In 1996 he formed Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc., acquiring or building a range of ski resorts in New Hampshire, California, Washington and Wyoming. He later bought Grand Targhee Ski and Summer Resort, together with several golf courses.

From 1997 he extended his meat interests by building Corporate Brand Foods America (which included Iowa Ham, Jordan Meats and Wright Bacon), latterly bought by Iowa Beef Processors for US$550 million. Gillett and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst then bought ConAgra's beef operations - Swift and Company - for US$1.4 billion in 2001[4]. This also controls:

  • Petaluma Poultry - natural and organic chicken products
  • Snowball Foods - food processor of turkey and chicken products
  • Kings Delight - food processor of turkey and chicken products
  • B3R Country Meats - processes fresh and frozen natural beef
  • Coleman Natural Products - processes fresh and frozen natural beef and lamb
  • Gerhard’s Napa Valley Sausage - a producer of gourmet sausage products made primarily from poultry

[edit] Other interests

Gillett's other business interests include:

[edit] Liverpool Football Club

Since October 2006, Gillett had been one of the parties interested in a proposed takeover of England's most successful football club; Liverpool FC of the English Premiership.[6]

On January 22-26, 2007, Reports stated that Gillett had made another bid for Liverpool. On 31 January 2007, Dubai International Capital announced they had pulled out of the deal, giving Gillett the opportunity to buy the club from David Moores. On 2 February, Gillett and Tom Hicks reached a deal with the clubs' board, which was sealed on 6 February, thought to be worth in the region of £435 million: £220 million to buy out existing shareholders (including approximately £44.8 million of debt), and £215 million for the new stadium proposed at nearby Stanley Park. The Board unanimously recommended that the clubs' shareholders accept this offer.

Commenting on the offer, George Gillett and Tom Hicks said: “Liverpool is a fantastic club with a remarkable history and a passionate fanbase. 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"[7].

[edit] Awards and recognition

In 1999 Ski magazine voted Gillett as one of the "100 Most Influential Skiers of All Time." Gillett's innovative thinking and passion for redefining the ski industry left such a lasting mark on Colorado's skiing community, that in 2005 he was inducted into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cobizmag.com/articles.asp?id=191
  2. ^ http://skimuseum.net/2005induction.html
  3. ^ http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=4646
  4. ^ http://www.meatnews.com/mp/northamerican/dsp_article_mp.cfm?artNum=337&issueMonth=6&issueYear=2002
  5. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCM/is_7_29/ai_73023294
  6. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/11/16/sfnbos216.xml
  7. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6323037.stm
  8. ^ http://skimuseum.net/2005induction.html

[edit] External links

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