Philadelphia and Reading Corporation

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The Philadelphia and Reading Corporation was an American investment and holding company . It was founded as a mining company in 1871 and merged with Northwest Industries in 1968 .

history

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad were unable to invest in other areas of the economy due to the provisions of the concession they were granted . However, the president of the company Franklin B. Gowen saw in the takeover of a large part of the coal production in the catchment area of ​​his railway company the opportunity to create a regional monopoly. On May 18, 1871, the Laurel Hill Improvement Company was founded. All existing and future mining activities (especially anthracite mining in the Schuylkill region) of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad should be transferred to this company, which is responsible for the operation . On December 12, 1871, the company changed its name to "Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company" (PRCI) to make it clear that it was part of the railway company. All shares were owned by the railway company. Due to the concession, the railway company was able to take out unlimited loans. The company thus acquired extensive mining rights. This also meant that the railway company had to file for bankruptcy in 1880, 1884 and 1893. As part of the reorganization of the railway company operated by JP Morgan after the last bankruptcy in 1893, the "Coal and Iron" acquired all mining assets from the railway company on September 23, 1896. At the same time the company became a subsidiary of the Reading Company together with the railway company .

Finally, the cartel authorities also became aware of the construct. As part of proceedings under the Sherman Antitrust Act , the Reading Company was sentenced to split on April 26, 1920. For this reason, the independent "Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Corporation" was founded on December 19, 1923, which took over the shares of the previous company from the Reading Company. The steel manufacturer "Reading Iron Co." also became part of the company.

The decline in the coal and steel market and the effects of the Great Depression resulted in the company having to file for bankruptcy in February 1937. In 1938, for example, the Reading Iron Company was dissolved and the individual steelworks were sold to interested parties. The bankruptcy administration was not ended until 1944. As part of the financial reorganization, the corporation was dissolved in 1941 and the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company was re-established on January 1, 1945.

In 1952, 4% of the company's shares were acquired by the investment company Graham-Newman Corporation. As a result, this acquired further shares until 1955 30% of the shares were in their possession. Graham-Newman's Howard A. Newman was named president in late 1955. At that time the company had a high level of liquidity and tax credits and was therefore a good basis for creating a conglomerate through further investments and company acquisitions. Therefore, the name was changed to " Philadelphia and Reading Corporation" at the same time . Philadelphia & Reading acquired, among others, the lingerie manufacturer Union Underwear (with the brand Fruit of the Loom ), the shoe manufacturer Acme Boots and the toy manufacturer Deluxe Reading. Through this deal, the former owner of these companies, Carroll Rosenbloom , became the largest shareholder in Philadelphia and Reading. Coal mining activities were concentrated in the Reading Anthracite Company subsidiary . This was sold to local entrepreneurs in 1961. In the same year the Fruit of the Loom Licensing Company was bought and thus the license holder and manufacturer were reunited. In 1964 Universal Manufacturing (electrical components) and in 1965/1966 the Texan steel company Lone Star Steel Co. was acquired. As a rule, the management of the acquired companies remained in office and continued to manage the day-to-day business. The holding company usually served as a kind of “bank” for investments in order to be able to transfer cash from one company to another.

The company was taken over by the Northwest Industries conglomerate in 1968 and remained as an independent group company until 1985 before it was merged with Fruit of the Loom.

president

Until 1914, the presidents of the company were also president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the Reading Company .

Company headquarters

For many years the company was based in the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. After separating from the Reading Company, the headquarters were relocated to Pottsville . When it was taken over by Graham-Newman in 1955, the company's headquarters were relocated to New York.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert H. Boyle: THE PLEASURE OF DYING ON SUNDAY. Retrieved April 1, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ RALPH TAGGART, 64, COAL LEADER, DIES; Antharcite Field Spokesman in Negotiations With UMW Headed Philadelphia Firm . In: The New York Times . May 2, 1951, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed June 4, 2018]).
  3. ^ HA Newman Heads P. & R. In: The Evening Courier. December 30, 1955.