When Bobby Haas isn't busy building up
his successful leveraged-buyout firm, he's dangling from
helicopters to take pictures of some of the world's most
dangerous wildlife. Why, you ask? Let him tell
you...
When people in the leveraged-buyout industry talk about their
complex business, they're bound to throw around a lot of funky
financial terms. Investment-grade bonds, for one. And
recapitalization, for another. Or maybe acquisition multiples. And
especially debt-to-equity ratio. Seriously, you can't get them to
shut up about the debt-to-equity ratio.
But one thing you almost never hear anyone in the LBO business
mention is the Okavango Delta. Which, when you think about it,
makes sense. The Okavango Delta comprises 10,000 square miles of
swamps, forests, and rivers in northwestern Botswana. It's home to
one of the most diverse habitats on earth and to some of the
world's most dangerous wild animals - and to few humans. As such,
it is a very unlikely staging ground for conducting leveraged
buyouts.
Even so, Bobby Haas, chairman of Dallas-based Haas Wheat &
Partners and a 25-year veteran of the LBO industry, loves to talk
about the Okavango Delta. That's because he could make a living off
the photographs he's taken there. Don't misunderstand; Haas is a
businessman, an LBO whiz, first. He, along with Texas Rangers owner
Tom Hicks, once turned approximately $90 million of invested funds
into $1.3 billion for investors in deals, highlighted by
acquisitions of Dr Pepper, Seven-Up, A&W brands, among other
companies. And today, Haas's firm still buys and sells the kinds of
companies that you've probably heard of - Smarte Carte, for one,
was once among the Âcompany's holdings. Still, Haas is also a
successful nature photographer and, as such, is less likely to
discuss debt-to-equity ratio than he is to talk about the Okavango
Delta. He'll tell you about the time he was flying over the delta
in a helicopter whose doors had been removed, and he spotted a lion
down below. So, Haas has the pilot hover over the lion while he
leans all the way out of the hole where a door should be so that he
can take the lion's picture ... well, here, let's let him tell it.