Limited Time Offer
Premium members can get their quote collection automatically imported into their Quotewise collections.
The third acquisition was a big single-family house. I found an architect, a small local general contractor, and we created a design for four separat… - Sam Zell
" "The third acquisition was a big single-family house. I found an architect, a small local general contractor, and we created a design for four separate units. Then I went to the bank and got loans to do the renovation. I was twenty-three, with a BA in political science. I didn’t know anything about financing. But it never crossed my mind that I might be too young to start an investment business or that I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know any better, but was able to sell the banks on my ability to get it done. Our management company took over the property, did the renovation, and rented the units. The asset did very well.
English
Collect this quote
Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.
Additional quotes by Sam Zell
In very short order, we were able to persuade Blackstone to raise its bid to $48.50 a share for a total of $20 billion, plus $16 billion in debt, or $36 billion total. I insisted that our agreement include an unusually small breakup fee so other potential bidders wouldn’t be discouraged. The typical breakup fee is up to 3 percent of the selling price, but I set ours at $200 million — around 1 percent of the offer’s equity value. Obviously, this didn’t sit well with Blackstone, but it was not negotiable.
Many large private equity firms were interested in acquiring such strong brands — which is why I initially bowed out. A bidding war virtually guaranteed a higher sales price, so even if I won, I wouldn’t get paid well enough to invest my time and best talent in the company. I don’t like auctions, unless of course I’m running them.
Loading...