KKR's Counselor, Class of '61
Right at the heart of the bidding war for control of RJR Nabisco—the largest corporate buyout in history—was Richard I. Beattie '61. And, as lead lawyer for the takeover firm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., he won: RJR Nabisco's board awarded the country's 19th largest industrial company to Kohlberg Kravis despite its lower bid of $25.05 billion.
It was exhausting and exhilarating, according to Dick. Victory came after three days and three nights of nonstop negotiating. "It was very, very exciting," he says, "both from the size of the transaction and the intensity of the competition." The press provided descriptions of how exhausted the participants were. According to The Wall Street Journal, "At 4 p.m. Wednesday [Nov. 30], Richard Beattie was sprawled on the floor of a conference room in mid- Manhattan, fast asleep. It was the first time in more than 48 hours that Mr. Beattie ... had had a chance to sleep. Slumbering nearby were ... two other partners from the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. As the three slept, KKR partner Henry Kravis sat reading a book, awaiting the outcome of the contest.
"'Henry had to get up and leave because we were snoring so loud,' a happy Mr. Beattie said unabashedly.
"For Mr. Beattie, 49, the contest for RJR marked just another one of many he has helped KKR win. 'What made this one ... different was its size and how much some other people wanted this company,' he said."
Dick has worked with KKR since 1972-except when he was in Washington—representing them in some two dozen deals. Now Dick is preparing to make frequent visits to Winston-Salem to work on legal matters for RJR Nabisco—and to help them spin off some of the companies in the conglomorate.
For Dick, it's just one in a series of high-profile activities since he went into practice in 1968. During the Carter administration he rose to general counsel of Health, Education and Welfare, when HEW was constantly in the news. Then, when the new U.S. Department of Education was set up, Dick designed it.
Since returning to New York and Simpson Thacher in 1980, he has served New York Mayor Ed Koch by chairing commissions on special education of the handicapped and on the reorganization of the city's Human Resources Administration.
When it comes to Dartmouth Dick Beattie has been relatively high profile, too. An economics major, he played football and joined Beta Theta Pi and Sphinx, then earned his law degree at Penn after service in the marines. He's served on the Alumni Council and as a class agent—and his daughter Nina is an '89.
Mayor Koch put it this way to the WSJ: "If you're ever in a tight situation and you want to be sure there's someone who's absolutely loyal, courageous, intelligent, and willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you and take the flak when it's hurled at you, the guy to have in your corner is Dick Beattie."
Dick Beattie '61, left, with George Roberts and Henry Kravis of KKR.
