SNYDER: "IN LIFE YOU BET ON PEOPLE�AND TOM CRUISE IS A WINNER" (LAT)
By Nancy Vialatte
The Los Angeles Times today profiles Dan Snyder, the Washington Redskins owner who now makes such TV shows as "The Golden Globes" through Dick Clark Productions and is financing Tom Cruise's production company. In speaking about his investments with the LAT, Snyder said Hollywood wasn't so different from the smash-mouth world of professional football.
Snyder also controls Six Flags Inc. theme parks and ownership of Johnny Rockets restaurants. "People have the passion to watch sports, to watch entertainment, movies, to go to a concert�Why do you buy tickets to a concert?. . . Because it's a passion."
To help assemble his companies, Snyder formed a $748-million private equity fund, RedZone Capital, in 2004 to invest in entertainment properties after becoming familiar with the industry through his work on the National Football League's broadcast committee. Snyder has tapped less than half of the fund and said he planned to be "extremely acquisitive."
Analysts, says the Times, have speculated Snyder is trying to emulate Walt Disney Co., which has a variety of family entertainment properties. But although Snyder said Bob Iger has "America's coolest job," he insisted he had no mouse-cloning strategy. Rather, he's just trying to be "opportunistic."
"I've never in my life had a 10-year business plan," Snyder told the LAT. "I'm a college dropout."
Still, Snyder built a marketing company he sold for $2.3 billion in 2000 and a year earlier, led an investment group that bought the Redskins for $800 million. The team is now the nation's most valuable sports franchise, worth an estimated $1.4 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine.
But while the Redskins are a cash machine, the team's high-priced roster has underachieved on the field. So, posits the LAT: Can Snyder thrive in Hollywood, another arena where big money and big names don't always equal success?
Snyder had told Creative Artists Agency, which represents Tom Cruise, that he was looking for investment opportunities in Hollywood. And one arose when Sumner Redstone cut film-development ties with Cruise last summer.
Snyder swooped in. Through another partnership, First and Goal, formed with Six Flags Chief Executive Mark Shapiro and Virginia home-builder Dwight C. Schar, he agreed to fund the overhead for the production company Cruise runs with Paula Wagner. The deal is for about $3 million annually for at least two years.
"In life you bet on people," Snyder said. "You say to yourself you're looking for winners, and Tom Cruise is a winner."
Snyder said he and Cruise, who both have young families, have become friends. Shortly after the deal was announced, Snyder invited Cruise to a Monday Night Football game in Washington, preceded by an after-hours trip for their families to a nearby Six Flags park. They have visited each other's homes, and Snyder and his wife, Tanya, attended Cruise's exclusive wedding to Katie Holmes last fall in an Italian castle.
Cruise also was Snyder's guest at the Super Bowl in Miami in February. The day before the game, Snyder borrowed a couple of helicopters from Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga and flew his entourage to Schar's waterfront Palm Beach, Fla., estate for a touch football game. Cruise played quarterback.
Shapiro said the personal relationship that Snyder, Schar and he developed with Cruise helped seal the deal. From a business perspective, Tom Cruise is a strong brand," Shapiro said. "And Dan Snyder believes in investing in strong brands."
Dick Clark Productions, which RedZone acquired for $175 million in June, has an extensive video library of live music performances from "American Bandstand" which Snyder wants to digitize for delivery to iPods and cellphones.
A big movie fan, Snyder said he was considering film projects, but only if he owns them. He's keen on digital rights -- among his targets are film and music libraries -- and owning projects is one way he's trying to avoid becoming the latest "dumb money" to hit Hollywood.
"You have to be cautious," Snyder said. "You always hear these stories of people who go out to California and they finance movies and they walk away with nothing -- because they financed movies, they didn't own them."
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