Behind the Scenes of America’s Largest Ranch Sale
"You guys will never get it done," they were told. . . many, many times. But on Feb. 10, 2016, Bernie Uechtritz and Sam Middleton proved the naysayers wrong. That day the Texas real estate brokers closed the largest private ranch deal in American history. For the first time since its founding in 1849, the 535,000-acre W.T. Waggoner Ranch had a new owner.
The ranch is immense. Inside its 800 square miles are as many as 7,500 head of cattle; 500 horses; 1,100 producing oil wells; 30,000 acres of farmland; and several lakes, ranging from 1,000 to 16,000 acres. The ranch covers parts of six counties and employs 120, including cowboys and their families. It includes more than 100 buildings.
Consider the challenge faced by Bernie and Sam. The ranch was owned by descendants of W.T. Waggoner, but not all family members wanted to sell. The dispute over liquidating the estate simmered for some 25 years until a judge ordered the ranch be sold.
The ranch had no survey, no title, and no agreement between the shareholders.
A proposed auction of ranch holdings did not sit well with family members wanting to keep the estate intact. Bernie convinced the judge and the family that a conventional sale was in the best interests of the sellers, the ranch, and the state of Texas. "An auction should be the last resort, not the first," he said.
Bernie and Sam got the listing. However, the judge said the sale must occur with no contingencies. "That was huge in today’s world," said Sam. "You have a contingency on every deal you do. That meant the buyer could not come back if there’s a title issue or anything else. It was unheard of."
They listed it for $725 million.
The brokers divided the duties. Sam was in charge of showings, which included two hours by helicopter and eight hours on the ground. The eventual owner would spend several days on the ranch.
Bernie conducted a worldwide marketing campaign that reached 120 countries and 40 languages.
Hundreds of inquiries poured in. Among principals, buyers, and brokers, 48 percent were from Texas, 38 percent from the United States, and the rest international. Sam would log some 50 showings in all to the most serious buyers from around the world.
"We had to separate the dreamers and schemers from everyone else," said Bernie.
A call for offers was issued giving potential buyers 30 days to put $15 million in escrow. The deadline was later extended to 45 days. Every buyer’s finances were scrutinized. All brokers and buyers had to sign confidentiality agreements.
If a buyer got through the scrubbing process, they got to see the ranch. "There were no free tours, no free lunches," said Bernie.
Meanwhile, the 100 buildings had to be inspected. Three different companies were used. All signed confidentiality agreements. In three weeks, they inspected every home and building.
Five potential buyers emerged from the process. The question of what a buyer would do with the ranch was never an issue. None of the finalists wanted to subdivide it.
Bernie and his son Will set up a due-diligence room with data to answer any conceivable question about the estate. "It was amazing the amount of information we had available for the serious players," said Sam.
In the end, billionaire Stan Kroenke bought the legendary ranch. Kroenke owns the NFL Los Angeles Rams, NBA Denver Nuggets, and NHL Colorado Avalanche.
Kroenke was a unanimous choice by the family that had rarely agreed on anything.
"It was a record sale," said Bernie. "It was the largest transaction we know about in American ranching history. It was the largest sale in the history of Texas. It was the biggest sale ever for Sotheby’s International Realty Network, which I am involved in."
"Deals like this don’t happen because of one person," said Bernie. "They don’t happen because of two or three. We all knew what we were doing, but we had help, and we had layers of teams behind this.
Sam and Bernie were speakers at the Real Estate Center’s 26th Annual Outlook for Texas Land Markets in San Antonio last month.
A more complete story on the sale of the Waggoner Ranch is planned for the October issue of Tierra Grande magazine.
