The real Reds team is winning, and have been winning for some time. It is not about winning baseball games, it is about winning in the investment arena.
Baseball is big boys toys Edabbs.
These guys could buy and sell whoever they wanted to be on the baseball team, if they wanted to. Wait? for what? Do you think these guys could not compete with the Cubbies, and Cardinals if they wanted ?
Friday, March 17, 2006
Insider
Bases loaded
Wealth, influence fill Reds ownership lineup
Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk
Forget the pennant. The Cincinnati Reds' new ownership group has enough money, brainpower and clout to start a small city.
The group includes three Fortune 500 CEOs and six whose privately held companies rank among Cincinnati's 115 largest.
The companies represented by these investors generate more than $62 billion in annual revenue. They give at least $5 million a year to charity and have lots of political clout.
Some of the Reds' newest investors bought stakes on their own.
Others formed investment partnerships in which the lead investor speaks for the group and shares ownership perks and capital calls on a pro-rata basis. At least 44 people own a piece of the action, according to our research.
The group is larger than that, but we left out names we could not confirm.
Bob Castellini: President of Castellini Co., a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, he became the Reds' CEO Jan. 19. Castellini's ownership group paid about $270 million to acquire the team, financing the purchase with roughly $100 million in debt and the sale of investment units, each costing $6.5 million.
W. Joseph Williams: The chairman of North American Properties also carries the chairman title with the Reds. The company develops retail and apartment properties in six states. Florence and Northgate malls are among its notable Cincinnati projects, although it no longer owns either property.
Tom Williams: The president of North American Properties is also the brother of W. Joseph Williams. Their father was a controlling owner of the Reds from 1982 to 1984. Tom is now the team's vice chairman and treasurer.
Carl Lindner Jr. and Carl Lindner III: Lindner Jr. became a minority investor in the Reds in 1981, and controlling owner in 1999. Until last year, he owned about 37 percent of the ballclub. Now, he and his son hold 7.88 percent.
Louise Nippert: Nippert's late husband, Louis, bought 90 percent of the Reds in the late 1960s, selling a controlling interest to the Williams family in 1982. In January, Nippert sold her remaining 29 percent stake, then bought back 3.94 percent.
William Reik: Reik is a managing director at William D. Witter Inc., an investment advisory firm in New York. He's a director of Frisch's Restaurants Inc. and has owned a piece of the Reds since 1986. His ownership went from 11 percent to 7.88 percent in the new regime.
George Strike: Strike, a former chairman of American Laundry Machine Co., became a Reds owner in 1988. He's a 3.94 percent owner under Castellini, down from 12 percent under Lindner.
Larry Sheakley: Sheakley founded a workers' comp administration company in 1963, but has since branched into other employee benefits.Local broadcasting executive Bobby Lawrence owns a piece of Sheakley's stake.
Jack Wyant: This former Procter & Gamble executive has raised four venture capital funds totaling $600 million since starting Blue Chip Venture Co. in 1992. He is said to have partners, but could not be reached.
Harry Fath: Fath's downtown-based property management company owns 36 apartment communities in Cincinnati and Dallas, comprising more than 9,000 apartment units.
Jeff Wyler: The local auto dealer and UC trustee now spends much of his time in Naples, Fla. He also invests in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing team.
Steve Cobb: The Henny Penny Corp. CEO made his fortune selling high-end restaurant equipment. Cobb formed EMK Investment Corp. to buy a Reds stake, possibly with family members.
Ronald Sargent: A lifelong Reds fan who grew up in Northern Kentucky, this Staples Inc. CEO sought out Castellini when he heard the new Reds owner was selling minority shares in the team.
Jeffrey Gendell: A Wyoming native and son of a Procter & Gamble executive, Gendell runs a $1 billion hedge fund under the name Tontine Associates. He owns roughly 10 percent stakes in AK Steel and CECO Environmental.
Nick Ragland: Howard "Nick" Ragland is an in-law to Batesville's Hillenbrand family and owner of the Gorilla Glue Co. in Fairfax. Ragland formed a partnership in which his children share the Reds stake.
Ed Rigaud: A former P&G executive, now CEO of Enova Partners, he leads a 17-member group, 13 of whom are black. The group includes Ross Love, Ken Blackwell, Nathaniel Jones, Terry Atwater, Carl Satterwhite and Scott Robertson.
George Vincent: The Hamilton County GOP chairman has seven partners, including P&G elites A.G. Lafley, James Johnson and Mike Ryan; Vincent's law partner, Frank Woodside; Tom Neyer Jr.; and Dr. David Schneider.
David Drees: The CEO of Cincinnati's largest privately held company teamed up with his father, Kenton County Judge Executive Ralph Drees, to buy a 3.94 percent stake.
Art Hauser: This '60s vintage NFL lineman is founder of the Hauser Group, a Blue Ash-based insurance brokerage. Hauser is a Castellini pal, said to have teamed up with other investors to buy a piece of the Reds.
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/ci.../03/20/tidbits
http://reds.enquirer.com/1999/04/21/...roup_buys.html
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/200..._peale.23.html
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...tm?POE=SPOISVA
http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/09/030...n04_print.html
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs...30_default.asp
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/conte...2/c1263786.jsp
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Trust me edabbs, baseball stats take a back seat to the FINANCIALS.