(Reuters) - Billionaire Philip Anschutz said on Thursday he had been unlikely all along to sell his sports and entertainment conglomerate AEG, after scrapping the deal amid reports that bids came in lower than expected.
Anschutz, in a rare news conference, also said AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke decided to leave the company as part of that sale process. He added that Leiweke was always on the hunt for new deals and that AEG needed "to get back to our business."
(Reporting by Ronald Grover; Editing by Gary Hill)
Ranked the 31st richest man in the United States, Philip Anschulz is the owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), number 2 global producer and entertainment including tours of Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. He also holds shares in the press(Washington Examiner), telecommunications (17% of Qwest).
Degree in economics from the University of Kansas in 1961, Philip Anschutz takes over oil drilling activity created by his grandfather. By 1970, he began acquiring lands in Kansas traded for $ 10 million to which he adds the following year 36 000 km2 in Wyoming. A strategy which allows him to hold the largest oil company in the United States (nearly a billion of barrels per day).
The eighties are also those of the beginning of business to rail. In 1984, Philip Anschutz takes a stake in the railway company, Rio Grande Railroad, before acquiring four years later Southern Pacific Railroad.
In 1996, Anschutz leads the merger of Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Corporation and becomes the vice president of the new entity. In addition to the Railways, Anschutz invests in telecommunications, film and entertainment.
With a fortune estimated by Forbes at $ 7.5 billion in 2011, Anschutz is one of the businessmen most influential in U.S. He is also one of the largest supporters of the U.S.Republican Party, close to conservative and neo-creationists.
| Linked companies | |
|---|---|
The Anschutz Corp.
 The Anschutz Corp. Integrated OilEnergy Minerals The Anschutz Corp. engages in the provision of investments in the natural resources industry. The company was founded by Philip Frederick Anschutz in 1958 and is headquartered in Denver, CO. | Chief Executive Officer |
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