Word: silverman
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...never have heard of him, but if you've bought a home, rented a car or stayed in a hotel recently, you have probably encountered the handiwork of a high-powered, low-profile tycoon named Henry Silverman. Once a top Wall Street dealmaker, Silverman now runs a superfast-growing company called HFS that owns a collection of brands from Howard Johnson to Century 21 to Avis that have made it the world's largest and most aggressive franchiser. "You'd have a lot of difficulty finding another company this size that is growing this fast," says Smith Barney analyst Michael...
...Silverman, who founded HFS as Hospitality Franchise Systems in 1990 and took it public in 1992, has his company in the thick of some of the hottest plays on Wall Street. If Hilton Hotels Corp. succeeds in its hostile $6.5 billion takeover bid for ITT Corp. and its chain of 424 Sheraton properties, as many analysts think likely, HFS will add the luxe Sheraton brand to its already bulging portfolio. That's because Hilton ceo Stephen Bollenbach wants to license HFS to franchise the Sheraton trademark worldwide. Says Bollenbach of Silverman: "He can do more for the Sheraton brand than...
...Silverman, 56, has in fact been assembling a new kind of empire, one consisting of a loose confederation of brands in related services--rental cars and hotels, real estate and mortgages--that can reach consumers at home, at work or at play. In pursuit of that strategy, HFS last week agreed to pay $175 million for Value Rent-a-Car of Boca Raton, Florida, which has a string of 45 locations that cater to vacationers. Value will complement Avis' operations, which are largely oriented to business travel. And even as HFS drove off with its deal, Silverman was completing...
...contact with real, live consumers. Its main strategy is to be a franchiser: providing a brand name and other services in return for royalties that its brands generate. With a notable exception, HFS avoids the headaches associated with running service companies. This unusual game plan has worked wonders for Silverman, who has displayed a knack for spotting value in unpromising places while spending $5 billion to assemble his empire. Since acquiring two familiar hotel chains--Howard Johnson and Ramada--HFS now commands 23,000 outlets in 63 countries, and had revenues of nearly $800 million last year. "Many...
Some repair job. Fans on Wall Street estimate that the company's net income, which more than doubled, to $169.6 million, last year, could reach $445 million in 1997. Silverman isn't always golden. HFS last year licensed its Century 21 trademark to Amre Inc., a cash-strapped home-remodeling company that Silverman thought would fit nicely with his real estate operations. But Amre went belly up at a cost to HFS of $14 million in write-offs...