What is Boston Ventures, and should Petty fans be worried?
CONCORD, N.C. – Richard Petty has sold a majority stake of his beloved Petty Enterprises to a private equity named Boston Ventures.
But who is Boston Ventures? And should Petty fans be worried that the 60-year-old organization is now controlled by outsiders?
Quite the opposite, according to Boston Ventures Managing Director Andy Davis, who said his company plans to return Petty Enterprises to victory lane.
“We believe there’s so much we can do together by maximizing the value and power of the reach that the King has,” Davis said Wednesday. “…We’re not that arrogant to think that it’ll happen overnight, and we totally recognize that there’s fierce competition out there. … But it is our goal to bring back Petty Enterprises to its former glory.”
Boston Ventures specializes in injecting business with additional capital to help them grow. In its 25-year existence, the company claims to have invested $2.8 billion in more than 70 companies, including Motown Records, Six Flags amusement parks, Billboard Publications and the National Enquirer.
Davis said his company is structured in a way that makes key personnel in the invested company “partners” in the business.
“They all have some equity upside like we do, so all of our interests are aligned,” he said. “So we have a certain comfort that they’re not just going to be spending all of this money out there if it’s not a good use of capital.”
The bottom line, he said, “is we want this thing to happen.”
Boston Ventures will give Petty Enterprises an annual budget, then monitor its progress monthly. If a major purchase outside the budgetary limits is needed, then the board of directors will discuss it for approval.
The company will put four of its representatives on the board of directors, led by chairman Barry Baker, who is managing director of Boston Ventures. Petty will get three seats on the board.
But Davis didn't foresee any issues.
“Particularly in this business, if there’s an exception to the budget it’s not like, ‘Oh, this is taboo, we can’t do it because you didn’t put it in the budget,” Davis said. “It’s like, ‘Alright, we’re in this thing together. Let’s react – what’s the best thing for the company?’ If you use that as your compass, good decisions get made.”
Davis said that although his company is the majority owner, Petty will maintain a leading role in the organization and use Boston Ventures management as a “sounding board” for big decisions.
“As Richard said, he’s going to be very, very much involved in the day-to-day decisions,” Davis said. “We trust him. We back people and we like Richard, we like Kyle…all the management team is smart people.”
Adding to the management team is new chief executive officer David Zucker, who formerly worked at ESPN, Midway Games and Playboy.
“For me, this was like a dream come true,” Zucker said. “I’m a huge NASCAR fan, I’ve been one for 30 years. I’ve been around sports for most of my career, and in the what-can-you-do-for-me now culture of today’s sports world, these guys are really special. With the charity, commitment, dedication, integrity, family, I really admire that. I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
