Beckham partner Marcelo Claure keeps his eyes on his goals
By Evan S. Benn, The Miami Herald | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But it's when he brings up soccer that Claure, a 6-foot-6 Bolivian-raised, U.S.-educated, self-made billionaire, unleashes a smile that fills his boardroom.
"That's something that I've really wanted to do for a very long time, bring soccer to
Claure, along with retired English footballer
While the soccer deal is far from done, the wireless business that Claure, 43, founded in 1997 is on a tear with new acquisitions and infusions of cash. In the past six months,
--Reported
--Received
--Acquired 20:20 Mobile,
--Opened six
Also, Claure recently accepted an appointment to Sprint's board of directors in
"Sleeping less and working more," he said of his growth strategy, double espresso in hand. "It's been busy."
BUSINESS
Claure knows he'll need more than caffeine and a strong work ethic to take his company to the next level: He projects
"This is business that is already booked, so it is up to us to execute it," he said. "It took us 16 years to get to
Profitable since day one,
Much of
Distribution and services "are like two independent businesses I have to grow," he said.
The October deal with
"We immediately become the exclusive buyer of all the phones that both Sprint and SoftBank buy," Claure said. "And we become the premier provider of all of our phones and services to what is, combined, the third-largest wireless company in the world.
"It's pretty neat when your largest shareholder will also become your customer," he added. "The transaction with SoftBank should accelerate our growth in the service space tremendously, exponentially."
A particular area of
SoftBank valued
It is the first time that Claure is not
"Selling 57 percent of your company is like going public," he said.
Analysts mostly praised the deal, with Moody's upgrading its
"The capital contribution from SoftBank improves
Some analysts questioned whether the deal could negatively affect
Meanwhile,
J.LO CONNECTION
Viva Movil opened its first store in
But play comes after work, Claure said. Because of
In between, Claure said, it's a balancing act between grasping at opportunities like the ones he sees with wireless services in the
"We've had to watch closely what's happening in
After work, he said, it's usually dinner out with customers or colleagues -- he cites Zuma, Casa Tua and Cipriani as favorites -- or a
"Marcelo has so many achievements, but I think one of the most telling is this: At the
"
SOCCER STORY
The soccer deal still has hurdles to jump.
Claure said getting caught up in the paparazzi-style Beckham coverage doesn't bother him.
"One good thing about partnering with
"He always said, 'There is going to be a day when I want to buy a franchise, and I want you to be my partner,' " Claure said. "Now that he retired and he has the right to buy a franchise, he called me up and said, 'Hey, I've never been to
"So he came to
This is Claure's second attempt to back an MLS team to
It was "a bit awkward," he told the Herald at the time, having to lay off
"Marcelo wanted to do it for the right reasons, and was in the financial situation to do it, but now is a tough time to start any business," Mulroy said at the time.
Claure has proven himself a capable club owner. He bought his native country's Bolivar team in 2008; the club has won several league titles since then and is the most-winning team in
"We're not doing as good as always. We're having a tougher year this year," he said, a broad smile re-emerging. "But we'll be better."
Follow @EvanBenn on Twitter.
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