Haas Wheat & Partners
Encyclopedia
Haas Wheat & Partners is a private equity
firm focused on leveraged buyout
transactions. The firm targets specialty middle-market manufacturing, distribution and service companies, particularly family-controlled companies and corporate spin-outs.
The firm is based in Dallas, Texas
and was founded in 1992.
in 1984. Prior to 1984, Haas was a principal of a venture capital firm and a partner in a Midwest law firm specializing in corporate and securities law. The next year Hicks & Haas firm bought Hicks Communications, a radio outfit run by Hicks' brother Steven.
Hicks & Haas' biggest coup was its mid-1980s acquisition of 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. Tom Hicks
went on to form Hicks Muse, which in the late 1990s was one of the largest private equity firms in the US.
. From 1984 through 1989, Doug Wheat was a member of DLJ Merchant Banking and in 1989, Wheat left DLJ to co-found an investment firm, Grauer & Wheat. Tom Harrison left the firm in 1996 to join Hoak Communications Partners, the predecessor of what is today, Hoak & Co.
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm focused on leveraged buyout
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
transactions. The firm targets specialty middle-market manufacturing, distribution and service companies, particularly family-controlled companies and corporate spin-outs.
The firm is based in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and was founded in 1992.
Hicks & Haas
Robert (Bobby) Haas formed Hicks & Haas together with Tom HicksTom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
in 1984. Prior to 1984, Haas was a principal of a venture capital firm and a partner in a Midwest law firm specializing in corporate and securities law. The next year Hicks & Haas firm bought Hicks Communications, a radio outfit run by Hicks' brother Steven.
Hicks & Haas' biggest coup was its mid-1980s acquisition of several soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
makers, including Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
and 7 Up
7 Up
7 Up is a brand of a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo in the rest of the world, including Puerto Rico, where the concentrate is manufactured at the Pepsi facility in Cidra...
. 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. Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
went on to form Hicks Muse, which in the late 1990s was one of the largest private equity firms in the US.
1992-2006
In 1992, Robert Haas founded Haas Wheat & Harrison to focus on middle-market transactions. Among his co-founders were Thomas Harrison, who had previously worked with Haas at Hicks & Haas and Douglas Wheat, a former investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & JenretteDonaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette or DLJ is a defunct U.S. investment bank founded by William H. Donaldson, Richard Jenrette and Dan Lufkin in 1959. Its businesses included securities underwriting; sales and trading; investment and merchant banking; financial advisory services; investment research;...
. From 1984 through 1989, Doug Wheat was a member of DLJ Merchant Banking and in 1989, Wheat left DLJ to co-found an investment firm, Grauer & Wheat. Tom Harrison left the firm in 1996 to join Hoak Communications Partners, the predecessor of what is today, Hoak & Co.
Since 2006
In October 2006, Douglas Wheat announced that he was leaving Haas Wheat to found a new private equity firm, Foxbridge Partners. In 2007, Foxbridge merged with Challenger Capital Group, founded by Mark Stephens.External links
- Haas Wheat & Partners (company website)