NBA Legend's Equity Firm Takes Stake In Centerplate (Robinson)

[duncan228]

NBA legend's equity firm takes stake in Centerplate (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/8579385)
By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO, June 26 (Reuters) - Basketball legend David Robinson has conquered the sports landscape, collecting professional and college player of the year awards, two Olympic gold medals, two NBA titles and earning recognition as one of the greatest players ever.

Now the former San Antonio Spurs center is playing for gold of a different kind.

Robinson formed private equity firm Admiral Capital Group last year with a former Goldman Sachs executive, and this week they made their first investment, buying an undisclosed stake in food service company Centerplate.

Robinson, 43, and his partner, Daniel Bassichis, will look to invest in companies that offer a strong financial return as well as making a social impact.

"You have a tremendous opportunity to go out and make some money for your clients, but at the same time you also have a tremendous opportunity to impact those communities that you invest in," Robinson said in a telephone interview.

"I always saw basketball as great opportunity to have some fun and make some money, but it's also a place where you have a tremendous opportunity to impact communities," he added. "I don't see this business any different."

A portion of all Admiral Capital profits will support philanthropic causes, including the development of the Carver Academy, an inner-city San Antonio elementary school to which Robinson has contributed more than $10 million.

Admiral Capital does not disclose financial targets, but private equity firms traditionally target annual returns of about 20 percent. Reaching that goal has been tough recently.

Admiral Capital -- Admiral is Robinson's nickname from his days with the U.S. Naval Academy's college basketball team -- was formed in February 2008, but it waited out the worst of the recession, said Bassichis, who turns 35 this week and has a background in real estate and lodging.

Centerplate has provided food service at the Super Bowl, the Belmont Stakes horse race and six presidential inaugural balls, and numerous sports teams are among its clients.

TAPPING MR. ROBINSON'S TIES

Robinson, who has joined Centerplate's board, found a company he felt he could help grow by leveraging his sports and philanthropy relationships. Private equity firm Kohlberg & Co bought Centerplate in January for about $210 million.

While economists point to signs of recovery, it remains a tough time for private equity, which has struggled to put to work the $1 trillion of capital available for investing.

The pension funds and other investors in private equity funds have been hurting from sharp falls in their equity portfolios and are cautious about deploying more cash.

One reason for Centerplate's attractiveness, Robinson said, was its partnership with Living Cities, a philanthropic group of 21 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions focused on improving the lives of low-income people and the urban areas in which they live.

Bassichis is quick to emphasize, however, that the firm's top goal is maximizing returns and Robinson's sports ties will help Centerplate grow in areas it is targeting, including NBA arenas and college campuses.

"We know about arenas, concessions," said Robinson, due to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September. "We know about colleges and have some influence in those areas."

Centerplate agrees, seeing the deal with Robinson as a way to boost growth and give the company more of a local presence.

"We needed to differentiate the company from that sea of sameness in the market place," Centerplate Chief Executive Desmond Hague said. "I really like the idea of tapping into David's network."

The Centerplate deal is the start of a broader relationship between Admiral Capital and Kohlberg, Robinson and Bassichis said. Robinson, who has a small stake in the Spurs, added with a laugh that buying an NBA team does not interest him.

(Additional reporting by Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

[howbouthemspurs]

That degree in Mathmatics is working really well for him!

[Doctor J]

Thanks for posting this, duncan228 !

[CGD]

Best find of the day. Thanks for posting.

[Danny.Zhu]

WoW. DR is in the PE market.

[duncan228]

David Robinson enters private-equity field (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/49383592.html)
By David Hendricks - Express-News

David Robinson, one of basketball's best around the hoop during his 14 years with the San Antonio Spurs, now is executing a fast break in the business arena by launching a new private-equity firm with the purchase of a stake in a Connecticut-based company.

As an investment businessman, the 7-foot Robinson will tower above others like he did on court. A portion of the profits from Admiral Capital Group acquisitions will flow into a foundation benefiting community improvement projects where Robinson and his partners invest.

Robinson, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September, will steer companies he invests in toward boosting the fortunes of their employees, their suppliers and their communities. He also hopes other athletes and entertainers will follow his path.

Robinson is co-founder of the Admiral Capital Group, along with former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Daniel Bassichis. The group has acquired a stake in Stamford, Conn.-based Centerplate Inc., a company providing food and event services at more than 150 North American stadiums and convention centers.

Robinson and Bassichis made their investment through an agreement with New York- and California-based private-equity firm Kohlberg & Co., which took Centerplate private for about $200 million in January. Robinson now has a seat on the Centerplate board of directors.

“This is where my heart is,” Robinson, 43, said in a telephone interview from his Hawaii home about his combined social and business agenda.

San Antonio already knows about Robinson's social agenda. The 1995 NBA Most Valuable Player already has invested more than $10 million in The Carver Academy on San Antonio's near East Side. The nonprofit private school, with 120 students in kindergarten through grade six and 24 faculty and staff, opened in 2001.

“The Carver Academy is one of the joys of my life ... The Carver is the motivation for this new business,” Robinson explained.

Robinson and Bassichis declined to reveal the size of their ownership position in Centerplate, but Bassichis said Kolhberg & Co. maintains “the vast majority” of the company.

The two partners said they have no specific goal for how large Admiral Capital Group may become. They seek other investment partners, ranging from other investment companies to other professional athletes and entertainers. Robinson was known as “the Admiral” during his playing career because he graduated from the Naval Academy.

Centerplate Chief Executive and President Des Hague, appointed in February after Kohlberg & Co.'s acquisition, said he is “exceptionally thrilled” to have Robinson as a company director.

“He is a world-class human being and a great model for anyone who aspires to be a superstar,” said Hague, a former IHOP Restaurants president.

Centerplate already annually contributes $13 million to nonprofits, but Hague said he foresees the company doing more, with Robinson's leadership, to find additional local food and merchandise suppliers and help them grow in the Centerplate's communities.

The 21,000-employee company has Texas operations mainly in Dallas, including the Dallas Convention Center and Pizza Hut Park, but has no operations in San Antonio.

Helping Robinson develop community strategies for companies will be New York-based Living Cities Inc. The organization is a collaboration of 21 philanthropic foundations and financial institutions that evaluates companies and community needs to develop plans that include grants, employee training and environmentally friendly initiatives.

Living Cities already has opened the Admiral Community Impact Center in Harlem, N.Y., using Robinson's nickname. Its staff is dedicated to helping athletes and entertainers begin their own foundations.

Robinson said he has a natural network of potential investors who could either join his private-equity group or start their own businesses or foundations.

“I have a trust level with players, athletes I have played with and played against,” he said. “It's not to take advantage of them but to bring a good opportunity to them. That's what players have come to trust about me ... I'd like to be a mentor to them in owning a business and investing.”

With Admiral Capital Group still in a formative stage, Robinson said he knows he has to put a team together. “Like the Spurs, I have learned you have to put the right guys together. Dan (Bassichis) is one of those pieces, and other companies we'll do business with are other pieces. I will build the best company I can, and the philanthropy will flow from the business.”

Bassichis, 34, is a native of College Station. He worked three years for Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2007 to start the Admiral Capital Group. He also is a Carver Academy board member and a Living Cities adviser. Bassichis met Robinson through one of Robinson's Naval Academy friends who later attended Duke University's Fuqua School of Business when Bassichis was a student there.

Robinson separates his basketball achievements from his business and social goals. “This is just the next fun stage of my life. This is what I want to do now. The Carver has been a lifelong dream, and I still need to work hard to keep it going,” he said.

“But there are other things I'd like to do. I'm looking at lots of issues. I can only do one at a time,” he said. “Hopefully, I can accomplish something people will remember.”

[smrattler]

Big Dave is rolling with the big boys again...

[Admiral]

This was a nice read. I am glad to hear that David is still pursuing his interests. He always has been a unique guy, and it's cool that life after the NBA has given him even more freedom to go after new goals.

[smrattler]

It's amazing DRob maybe wasn't a legendary leader in the NBA, he didn't have the kind of personality that makes a great leader in the NBA, but when it comes to the real world, he strikes me as more comfortable being a leader.

In the real world, this is the kind of guy that leads and people follow.

[Capt Bringdown]

In the real world, this is the kind of guy that leads and people follow.

US Naval Academy certainly helped develop leadership traits I would imagine.

If they ever do a redesign, I think Dave should replace Jerry West on the NBA logo. He truly embodies what the NBA should be all about.

[Avitus1]

Glad that he is still doing stuff for the community off the court. Great man.

[duncan228]

Robinson's shot in investing arena (http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/49553887.html)
David Hendricks - Express-News

Can former San Antonio Spurs superstar center David Robinson become the “oracle of San Antonio”?

Robinson is entering the private equity field, but he has a long road ahead of him to prove he can turn profits by investing in companies, as has San Antonio's B.J. “Red” McCombs or the famous “oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett.

Robinson freely admits he has much to learn. But anyone talking with Robinson about his Admiral Capital Group, with offices in San Antonio and New York City, will hear some common business sense, perhaps as good as his basketball court sense.

For example, anyone entering the private equity arena these days must be wary. The private equity heyday was in 2005 and 2006 as deals were struck here, there and everywhere, with huge debt leverages and the-sky's-the-limit mentalities. The deals drove up stock market indices because they made all companies appear undervalued.

The bubble started bursting in late 2007. Now, in 2009, numerous private equity deals look like huge, embarrassing mistakes. As a result, finding financing for deals now is tough.

Robinson's partner in the Admiral Capital Group, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Daniel Bassichis, argues that now is a perfect time to launch a private equity group.

“Valuations have come down and are more realistic,” Bassichis said, enthusiastically. “It makes more sense now.”

Robinson chimed in at that point. “We can benefit by learning from the mistakes others have made,” he said.

Buffett couldn't have said it better.

Robinson displayed another Buffett trait in selecting, as the Admiral Capital Group's first investment, Centerplate Inc. Based in Stamford, Conn., Centerplate operates concessions at sports stadiums and plans and caters events at convention centers.

Buffett made his wealth by investing in companies with products he buys and understands, such as Coca-Cola, insurance companies and Dairy Queen, and avoiding new-fangled technology companies. Why did Robinson's Admiral Capital Group choose to buy a piece of Centerplate?

“We're in arenas all the time,” Robinson said simply.

Future acquisitions likely will involve real estate, such as hotels. Real estate was Bassichis' specialty when he worked at Goldman Sachs. Robinson stayed in a few hotels himself during his 14 years with the Spurs.

Robinson wants, as much as any other investor, for his group's investments to make profits. But that desire is secondary to his philanthropic impulses.

When Robinson invests in companies, he will insist that they do more for their communities. He will want them to donate to community organizations. He will want companies to upgrade their employees' career skills. He will want companies to hire more local suppliers and to urge those suppliers to support community causes and to employ inner-city youth.

He also wants his way of investing his wealth to be a model for other professional athletes and wealthy entertainers. After pulling so much money out of society, professional athletes and big-name entertainers often flop in their investments. Robinson wants to return the favors that have been given him.

Robinson is genuine about this. He has leadership skills. If Robinson manages to do half as well in his investments as he did with his basketball talent, even Buffett would be impressed.

[Spursmania]

You gotta love DROB. And the way he gives back to the community is amazing. Does he have annual Carver Academy fundraisers? I'd like to contribute in some form this year just don't know where or when that happens.

[duncan228]

Does he have annual Carver Academy fundraisers? I'd like to contribute in some form this year just don't know where or when that happens.

Kori and timvp did a holiday fundraiser here last year, I think we'll see that again.

Here's the link for Supporting The Carver Academy, they take donations.

http://www.thecarveracademy.org/page.cfm?p=8

Edit: The SpursTalk Holiday Fundraiser thread for anyone interested. Kori said it will be an annual event. SpursTalk raised $3121.52 for the Carver Academy.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114339

[VivaPopovich]

nice. hopefully he dominates the private sector the way he dominated the nba

even when he was young he always had that grandfather-military-establishment feel about him hehe

[Spursmania]

Kori and timvp did a holiday fundraiser here last year, I think we'll see that again.

Here's the link for Supporting The Carver Academy, they take donations.

http://www.thecarveracademy.org/page.cfm?p=8

Edit: The SpursTalk Holiday Fundraiser thread for anyone interested. Kori said it will be an annual event. SpursTalk raised $3121.52 for the Carver Academy.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114339

Awesome Duncan228, Thank you! I definitely will be contributing this year.:toast

[alamo50]

Thank you very much for posting. This made my day reading D-Rob is entering my field of business!