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Can a Peruvian-born Aggie from Southlake pull another multimillion-dollar rabbit out of his hat?
William Snyder has won kudos for applying his brand of magic to put bankrupt companies back on their feet. But the keenly focused, 51-year-old turnaround specialist has never before dealt with a professional sports team.Suddenly, Snyder has been thrust into the Texas Rangers' high-stakes bankruptcy drama playing out in Fort Worth's Depression-era, classic-moderne federal courthouse. For the first time, he's under the glare of public scrutiny as fans worry about the post-bankruptcy prospects of the American League West leader.While all sides approved his appointment as the franchise's chief restructuring officer, Snyder's recommendations could make or break a $575 million sale of the team and related real estate to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg. On Thursday, Snyder made headlines by suggesting a new auction.Mediation to work out bidding guidelines resumes Tuesday.Major lenders are trying to recoup as much as they can of the $525 million they've lent to Hicks Sports Group, which owns the Rangers and the Dallas Stars hockey team. Millions more have piled up in unpaid interest since HSG defaulted in March 2009, not to mention millions lent by Major League Baseball that have kept the club afloat.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Lynn, returning to the courtroom in shirtsleeves after a June hearing, told an attorney that the newly appointed Snyder has "pulled a rabbit from his hat" many times as a restructuring officer or court-ordered examiner in complicated bankruptcy cases.For example, the mammoth East Texas chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride was not only made profitable again under Snyder but also emerged from bankruptcy with creditors paid 100 cents on the dollar and shareholders holding more than a third of stock instead losing their entire investment, as is commonly the case. Once worth 18 cents each, the company's shares now trade at over $6.In another big case, Snyder returned "50 cents on a dollar" to creditors, Lynn said."I could live with that," replied Andrew Leblanc, who represents the big first-lien holders owed hundreds of millions.High pointSnyder's journey from the Casaracra sheep ranch near La Oroya, Peru, to corporate boardrooms and bankruptcy courts is as remarkable as some of his turnaround feats.His father, William Ketchum Snyder, was a gutsy Army glider pilot during World War II. A descendant of Wyoming ranchers, this larger-than-life figure sought a South American adventure after landings in Normandy, the Netherlands and Germany.The family was uprooted in 1969 when a left-wing military government nationalized the ranch. The Snyders, by then including young William, the fifth of six children, transplanted themselves to Umnak, a tiny Alaskan island in the Aleutians. There, the elder Snyder salvaged copper from an abandoned air base and ranched sheep.His father decided to retire when the native Aleuts demanded their land back in 1974. The family set up house in Corpus Christi, where the younger William Snyder's mother, Lyle Knight Snyder, ran a pet store. He held dual nationality until he renounced his Peruvian citizenship at 18.
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