29 good ol’ American companies that aren’t American anymore
lovemoney staff
07 November 2017
Iconic US firms that are now foreign owned
It may come as news to you, but an increasing number of quintessentially American firm are no longer US-owned. We reveal 29 of the most emblematic companies that don't belong to Uncle Sam anymore.
Trader Joe's
The chain of eco-conscious supermarkets is named after its founder Joe Coulombe, who established the business in Pasadena, California back in 1967, but Trader Joe's has in fact been German-owned for decades. The firm was acquired by Aldi's Theo Albrecht in 1979 and is now owned by his heirs.
Smithfield
Smithfield, America's premier pork producer, boasts brands like Smithfield and Cook's in its portfolio and is now Chinese-owned. Shuanghui Group, the world's leading pork producer, bought the company for $4.7 billion (£3.5bn) in 2013.
Holiday Inn
The budget US hotel chain dates back to 1952 and was named after the classic Christmas movie Holiday Inn. The chain was American-owned until 1988 when it was acquired by the hotels division of British brewery Bass, which is now called the InterContinental Hotels Group.
7-Eleven
Famed the nation over for its Slurpees and Big Gulp drinks, 7-Eleven is all-American. Except it's actually Japanese. The chain of convenience stores, which was founded in Texas in 1927, was bought by Tokyo-based firm Seven & I Holdings in 1991 for a supersized $1 billion (£754m).
GE Appliances
One of America's most recognised manufacturers of refrigerators, dishwashers and other electricals, General Electric's appliance division was snapped up in 2016 for $5.4 billion (£4.1bn) by Chinese white goods company Haier.
Burger King
Founded in Florida in 1953, Burger King was American-owned until proprietor Pillsbury was acquired by British firm Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo) in 1989. The fast food chain has changed hands several times since and is currently owned by Canada's Restaurant Brands International.
Sunglass Hut
Sunglass Hut was founded in 1971 by optometrist Sanford L. Ziff, who opened the firm's first store in Miami. By the 1980s, the chain had established itself as one of America's leading sunglasses stores. Now Italian, it was bought in 2001 by the Milan-headquartered Luxottica Group in a $653 million (£493m) deal.
Ben & Jerry's
The brainchild of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the much-loved ice cream company started life in Vermont back in 1978 and has become a household name thanks to flavours like Phish Food and Cherry Garcia. Less well known is the fact Ben & Jerry's is owned by a British-Dutch company – it was sold to multinational Unilever in 2000 for $326 million (£246m).
Hoover US
Hoover is as American as apple pie but not many people are aware that the US division of the vacuum cleaner company was sold by Whirlpool to Hong Kong-based investment company Techtronic Industries in 2007 for $108 million (£81.4m).
Motorola Mobility
Motorola has a proud history dating all the way back to 1928, when brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin brought the world the first car radio. The company, which went on to pioneer the walkie talkie and mobile phone, was split into two divisions in 2011, and its Mobility arm was sold to China's Lenovo three years later for $2.9 billion (£2.2bn).
AMC Theaters
Dalian Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate run by the country's richest man Wang Jianlin, acquired North American cinema behemoth AMC Theaters for $2.6 billion (£2bn) in 2012. The Chinese group now controls 5,048 cinema screens in 347 movie theatres across the US and Canada.
Ironman
In 2015, Dalian Wanda raided the company coffers yet again to buy the World Triathlon Corp from America's Providence Equity Partners LLC for a cool $900 million (£679m). The corporation owns the world-famous Ironman brand and organises triathlon events worldwide.
Legendary Entertainment Group
Continuing the shopping spree, Dalian Wanda added an American movie studio to its bulging portfolio last year. The Chinese conglomerate parted with $3.5 billion (£2.6bn) to take over Legendary Entertainment Group, the firm that co-financed movies from Jurassic Park to Warcraft.
Anheuser-Busch
The company that makes Budweiser came about in 1879 in St. Louis and is named after its founders, Eberhard Anheuser and his son-in-law Adolphus Busch. The firm remained American until 2008 when it merged with Belgium brewing giant InBev in a deal worth almost $52 billion (£39bn).
Dirt Devil
This US manufacturer of vacuum cleaners originated in 1905 and is American as they come, but parent company Royal Appliances Manufacturing Company was actually bought by Hong Kong's Techtronic Industries in 2002 for $105.5 million (£80m).
Forbes
You may think the company that publishes Forbes Magazine is wholly American-owned but you'd be wrong. The US business publisher was sold to Hong Kong's Integrated Whale Media Investments in 2014 for an undisclosed sum.
Good Humor
Perhaps Good Humor should now be spelt 'Good Humour'? The American ice cream firm was founded in Ohio in 1923 but acquired in 1961 by the UK's Lipton and is now a subsidiary of British-Dutch company Unilever.
Popsicle
Unilever also owns Popsicle, which was bought by Good Humor in 1989. Now a generic trademark for an ice pop, Popsicle began life in 1924 when California native Francis Epperson patented his 'frozen confectionery' on a stick.
Purina
This well-known pet food firm started out in the late 19th century making feed for livestock. The firm was founded by social campaigner William H. Danforth and was American-owned until 1986 when it was sold to British Petroleum. The firm was subsequently bought by Swiss giant Nestlé.
Firestone
The American tyre company was established in 1901 by Harvey Firestone and pioneered the mass production of car tyres. Firestone was a close friend of Henry Ford and ended up supplying tyres for Ford's vehicles. Now Japanese-owned, the firm was sold to Tokyo's Bridgestone Corporation in 1988.
Citgo
Citgo was founded in the early 20th century by Ohio oilman Henry Latham Doherty, who turned it into one of America's leading oil companies. The firm was sold to the Venezuelan state oil and gas corporation in 1990 and may soon be Russian. Last year, crisis-hit Venezuela put up Citgo as collateral for its mounting Russian debt.
Gerber
Gerber is the prototypical American baby food firm, despite the fact it's now owned by the Swiss. Founded in 1927 by Daniel Frank Gerber in Fremont, Michigan, the company merged with Sandoz Laboratories in 1994 and, like Purina, was later acquired by Switzerland's Nestlé.
Frigidaire
Founded in 1918, Frigidaire developed the world's first self-contained refrigerator in its factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was a big player in the burgeoning air conditioning market. Owned for years by General Motors, the company ended up in the hands of Sweden's Electrolux in 1986.
Waldorf Astoria
Synonymous with Big Apple glitz and glamour, the landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City was acquired by Chinese Insurance giant Angbang Insurance Group in 2014 for $1.95 billion (£1.47bn). The group is planning to convert some of the hotel's rooms into luxury condos.
Strategic Hotels & Resorts
Angbang increased its US presence two years later by acquiring Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6 billion (£4.5bn). The American firm, which was sold by investment company Blackstone, has a number of Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons hotels in its portfolio.
Ingram Micro
Ingram Micro is the planet's largest technology products wholesaler and a major player in the global IT industry. Founded in 1978 in Nashville, Tennessee, the firm was US-owned until last year when it was sold to a subsidiary of China's HNA Group for $6 billion (£4.6bn).
IBM PC Division
Trailblazing IBM revolutionised the home computer market in the US following the launch of its first model in 1981, but by the 2000s the firm's PC operation was faltering. Enter China's Lenovo. The Beijing-based company bought IBM's PC Division for a cool $1.25 billion (£954m) in 2005.
John Hancock Life Insurance
The oldest firm in our round-up, the John Hancock Life Insurance Company was established by its namesake in 1862 and remained wholly American-controlled until 2004, when it was bought by Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corporation.
American Apparel
American Apparel might want to consider a name-change given its current ownership. The hip Californian clothing company that used to produce its wares in American factories went bankrupt in 2015 and is now owned by Gildan, a Canadian manufacturing firm, which has outsourced much of the production to Honduras.
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