Wayne Huizenga

"In 1977, Walton bought a 16store discount chain operating in Missouri and Illinois, Mohr Super Value, and converted the outlets to Wal-Marts. He added the 104-store Big-K chain in 1981, making an attractive purchase after the 71-year-old retailer overextended itself through an acquisition and construction of an expen¬ sive corporate headquarters. After entering the warehouse club segment, Wal-Mart acquired the Midwest-based, 27-store Wholesale Club chain. When the time came to begin entering larger cities, Walton bought the 21 D. H. Holmes department stores to gain a foothold in New Orleans. In short, Sam Walton’s success had a touch of the industry consolidation magic for which Wayne Huizenga became famous."

"“Wayne always keeps the carrot far enough out in front of him and he never really wants to catch it,” observes Dean Buntrock. “That’s his personality. He’s never satis¬ fied.”8 Huizenga next undertook to consolidate the huge but fragmented automobile dealership industry, using as his base a conglomerate called Republic Industries. By 1997, Huizenga controlled the largest U.S. auto retailer, along with two of the leading rental car companies, Alamo and National."

"Wayne Huizenga has capitalized on consolidation in a variety of busi¬ nesses. The range is remarkable, encompassing waste hauling, videotape rentals, automobile sales and rentals, security alarms, professional sports franchises, hotels, portable toilets, lawn care, bottled water, pest control, billboards, and machine-parts washing service. In general, though, he has operated within the services category, favoring rental businesses that gen¬ erate recurring revenues. “If I rent something,” he explains, “basically I’m selling the same thing over and over again.”4 Even in waste hauling, Huizenga identified Dumpster rentals as the most profitable part of the business and emphasized it"

"Another industry consolidation that provided plenty of instruction in deal making was Wayne Huizenga’s creation of Waste Management. In acquiring independent waste haulers, he minimized the haggling over price by beginning at a level within 5 or 10 percent of the maximum that he would pay. Then, he would focus the discussion on such issues as the tax benefits of taking Waste Management stock in payment and the seller’s ongoing relationship as an operator. Sometimes, the owner would insist that Huizenga’s proposed price was too low and that the business was about to experience a profit surge. Instead of arguing the point and potentially antagonizing the owner, Huizenga would plan to call again to see if the two parties could get to¬ gether on price. In some instances, he would point out that if the owner delayed in selling, Waste Management might meanwhile acquire a com¬ petitor in the region and therefore have less interest in buying. Stamina and patience were additional keys to Huizenga’s success in acquiring waste-hauling operations. One negotiation took place at the owner’s office above a transfer station, where garbage was dumped and reloaded for further shipping. The weather was hot and humid, making the stench nearly unbearable. After a full day of negotiating, Waste Man¬ agement’s corporate attorney was nauseated, but Huizenga ignored the distracting smell and closed the deal.5"

"Wayne Huizenga’s Cardinal Rules for Closing Deals 1. Don’t lose a deal by failing to pay attention to it. 2. Never talk about a deal until it is signed.7"