- Dalgety plc
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Dalgety plc 
Industry Conglomerate Fate Acquired Successor Genus plc Founded 1846 Defunct 2005 Headquarters London, UK Key people Sir Denys Henderson (Chairman)
Richard Clothier (CEO)Dalgety plc was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
The Company was established by Frederick Dalgety, a Scotsman, in Melbourne in 1846, outfitting sheep ranchers.[1] In 1854 he moved to London where he operated as a wool trader.[1] The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1884. In 1962 the business merged with the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Agency.[1]
The Company expanded into North America in 1966 acquiring Balfour Guthrie, a lumber and poultry business, and in 1970 it acquired the UK-based Pig Improvement Company.
In 1979 it diversified into foods acquiring Spillers,[2] a flour milling and pet food business, following a hostile take-over battle, and in 1987 it bought Golden Wonder, potato crisp manufacturers.[3] Then in 1995 it bought Felix Pet Foods.[4]
In the late 1990s, following a BSE crisis in the UK, it entered into a series of disposals and sold Golden Wonder to the management in 1995,[3] its food ingredients and Spillers flour milling operations to Kerry Group plc in 1997[5] and its pet foods business to Nestlé in 1997.[6]
Demise of the business
The Company was renamed PIC International Group plc in 1998[7] and then Sygen International plc in 2001[8] before being acquired by Genus plc in 2005.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Frederick Dalgety, Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Spillers Feeds: History
- ^ a b Walkers buys Wotsits in Golden Wonder sale Independent, 28 May 2002
- ^ Dalgety snaps up Felix Independent, 4 February 1995
- ^ Dalegety sells its food ingredients business for £360m PR Newswire, 1997
- ^ Sale of Spillers Petfoods for £715m PR Newswire, 1997
- ^ Increased return of £675m to shareholders PR Newswire, 1998
- ^ PIC International Group PLC Changes Name to Sygen International plc PR Newswire, 2001
- ^ Genus completes acquisition of Sygen PigSite, 2 December 2005
Categories:- Companies established in 1846
- Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Companies based in London
- Conglomerate companies of the United Kingdom
- United Kingdom company stubs
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