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Weaver’s effort to influence Lisle was successful.
Unexpectedly, Intercontinental Co., one of the bidders, withdrew
at the last minute and did not attend the bid meeting. A second
bidder, Del Webb, who surprisingly attended the meeting in person
(as opposed to sending a representative), refused to submit a bid
because he believed he had already been awarded the contract. In
the absence of a competing bid, Hyatt Corp. was awarded the
Embarcadero Hotel management contract on the same terms on which
it had agreed to manage the Houston Hyatt Hotel.
The record reflects that Weaver did much more than simply
influence Lisle to permit Hyatt Corp. to submit a bid on the
Embarcadero Hotel management contract. After Hyatt Corp. won the
Embarcadero Hotel management contract, Hyatt Corp. entered into
an agreement to pay 10 percent of Hyatt Corp.’s annual “net cash
profits” from the contract to KWJ Corp., Weaver’s closely held
corporation. The Hyatt/KWJ agreement stated that Weaver “has
been the principal factor in bringing the parties together and
aiding in the negotiations” with regard to the Embarcadero Hotel
management contract. In addition, the Hyatt/KWJ agreement was
executed under the unusual circumstances that initially only A.N.
Pritzker and his two sons knew the agreement existed. When other
Hyatt Corp. executives later investigated the matter (including
Friend--A.N. Pritzker’s son-in-law), they determined the
Hyatt/KWJ agreement represented a reward to Weaver for his
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