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North American Company

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Share of the North American Company, issued on February 9, 1892
Oregon and Transcontinental stock owned by Henry Villard

The North American Company was a holding company incorporated in New Jersey on June 14, 1890, and controlled by Henry Villard, to succeed to the assets and property of the Oregon and Transcontinental Company.[1][2] It owned public utilities and public transport companies and was broken up in 1946, largely to comply with the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.

Its headquarters were at 60 Broadway in Manhattan.

History

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In 1889, the New Jersey legislature passed legislation to facilitate the control of other companies by another corporation.[3] This was part of a bid to entice trusts to convert into holding companies and move to New Jersey. It persuaded the Oregon company Oregon and Transcontinental to re-incorporate as a holding company in New Jersey and became the North American Company.[3]

When the Dow Jones Industrial Average was created on May 26, 1896, North American's stock was one of the 12 component stocks,[4] but it was replaced on August 26 by U.S. Cordage. On October 1, 1928, when the number of stocks comprising the DJIA was increased to 30, North American was re-added to the list but was replaced by Johns-Manville in 1930.

By 1940, North American was a US$2.3 billion holding company that directly and indirectly ran 80 companies.

It had 10 major direct subsidiaries, in eight of which it owned at least 79%. The 10 included:

At various times during its existence, North American also owned substantial interests in these other companies as well:

Breakup

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The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 passed with the intent of breaking up interstate electric holding companies by limiting company operations to a single state, thus subjecting them to effective state regulation. The North American Company fought the legislation in court, and the company was not broken up by the Securities and Exchange Commission until their loss before the Supreme court in North American Co. v. SEC on April 1, 1946.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Talk of a new company; The report on Oregon and Transcontinental. The present charter declared not adapted to the corporation's successful development". The New York Times. November 23, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  2. ^ "Under a Brand-New Name; But It Is The Oregon And Transcontinental Company. The Very Extensive Powers Given To The North American Company By Its New-Jersey Charter". The New York Times. June 16, 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  3. ^ a b Yablon, Charles M. (2007). "The Historical Race Competition for Corporate Charters and the Rise and Decline of New Jersey: 1880-1910" (PDF). Iowa Journal of Corporation Law. 32 (2). University of Iowa: 339–340. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  4. ^ What happened to the original 12 companies in the DJIA?, djindixes.com Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b North American Co. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 327 U.S. 686 (1946). FindLaw.com
  6. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, formerly NYSEUEP, now part of Ameren Corp. NYSEAEE
  7. ^ Globe-Democrat, Feb 5, 1905, p 9
  8. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, formerly NYSECVX, then merged with Toledo Edison (formerly NYSETED) to form holding company Centerior Energy (formerly NYSECX), then merged with Ohio Edison Company (formerly NYSEOEC) to form holding company FirstEnergy Corporation NYSEFE
  9. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, NYSEPCG
  10. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, formerly NYSEDTE, then moved to holding company DTE Energy, same ticker
  11. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, formerly NYSEWPC, then moved to holding company Wisconsin Energy Corp. (formerly NYSEWEC), then merged with Northern States Power (formerly NYSENSP) to form holding company Primergy Corp.
  12. ^ a b Wisconsin Energy Corporation, History, wisconsinenergy.com
  13. ^ March, Charles E. (August 1934). "The Local Transportation Problem in the District of Columbia". The Journal of Land and Public Utilities Economics. 10 (3). University of Wisconsin Press: 275–290. doi:10.2307/3139173. JSTOR 3139173.
  14. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, now a unit of Pepco Holdings NYSEPOM)
  15. ^ Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, NYSECIN, then moved to holding company Cinergy Corp., same ticker
  16. ^ Laclede Gas Company, 1857-2007; Standard & Poor's Stock Guide, (NYSELG) became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Laclede Group, Inc., same ticker. Along with North American, the Laclede Gas Light Company was also one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Industrial Average.
  17. ^ Globe-Democrat, Feb 5, 1905, p 9
  18. ^ Globe-Democrat, Feb 5, 1905, p 9
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