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U.S.-Founded Companies Now Under Foreign Ownership
Kirt's Cogitations™ #368

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U.S.-Founded Companies Now Under Foreign Ownership: Kirt's Cogitations™ #368 - RF Cafe

 

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Companies come and go all the time. I have long lamented the selling off of well-known, bedrock companies which were founded and built up in the U.S. (aka America), using American material and personnel resources. No doubt people in every country have this sort of nostalgic perspective. Those of us who have been around for more than half a century have watched as companies like Westinghouse, divisions of General Electric, IBM computers, RCA, Bell Telephone Labs, parts of Motorola, all or parts of major telecommunications companies, Lucent, Texas Instruments were sold off to the highest foreign bidder. More recently founded, there is Boston Dynamics (the spooky-realistic automaton maker), Lexmark, McAfee, and Belkin. Other big-name companies like Sear Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Hechts, Pontiac, Woolworths, Toys "R" Us, Pan Am, Circuit City, and Radio Shack, are a few names that come to mind that were not bought by foreigners, but have disappeared in my lifetime. I miss them.

This page provides a list of about three dozen familiar U.S.-founded technology companies that have been acquired by foreign entities and/or integrated into global operations. It was complied by ChatGPT after requesting a timeline detailing dates of founding and acquisition by foreign concerns, and other details. A much longer list was delivered, but about half have not been bought by foreigners. The timeline ChatGPT provided was missing a lot of the companies that it had identified, and no amount of prompting would cause it to complete the list, so it is not included here. A lot of experimentation with ChatGPT had revealed a lot of issues, but overall, it is a very useful resource for research.

 

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

  • Founded: 1886, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Acquisition Event: In 1999, British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), a UK government-owned company, acquired Westinghouse's nuclear business.
  •  Foreign Acquirer: British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL)
  •  Timeline:
    o 1886: Founded by George Westinghouse.
    o 1999: Acquired by BNFL.
    o 2006: BNFL sold Westinghouse to Toshiba, a Japanese company.

General Electric (GE) Appliances

  •  Founded: 1907, Schenectady, New York
  • Acquisition Event: In 2016, GE sold its appliances division to Haier, a Chinese multinational.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Haier Group Corporation
  • Timeline:
    o 1907: GE Appliances established.
    o 2016: Acquired by Haier for $5.4 billion.

IBM Personal Computer Division

  • Founded: 1981, Armonk, New York
  • Acquisition Event: In 2005, IBM sold its PC division to Lenovo, a Chinese technology company.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Lenovo Group Limited
  • Timeline:
    o 1981: IBM introduces its first personal computer.
    o 2005: Lenovo acquires IBM's PC division for $1.75 billion.

Bell Labs (Lucent Technologies)

  • Founded: 1925, Murray Hill, New Jersey
  • Acquisition Event: In 2006, Alcatel, a French telecommunications company, merged with Lucent Technologies, the parent company of Bell Labs.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Alcatel SA
  • Timeline:
    o 1925: Bell Telephone Laboratories established.
    o 1996: Becomes part of Lucent Technologies after AT&T's restructuring.
    o 2006: Merged with Alcatel to form Alcatel-Lucent.
    o 2016: Nokia, a Finnish company, acquires Alcatel-Lucent.

Motorola Mobility

  • Founded: 2011 (as a spin-off from Motorola), Libertyville, Illinois
  • Acquisition Event: In 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility, and in 2014, sold it to Lenovo.
    Foreign Acquirer: Lenovo Group Limited
  • Timeline:
    o 2011: Motorola splits into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.
    o 2012: Google acquires Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
    o 2014: Lenovo acquires Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion.

Infinera Corporation

  • Founded: 2000, Sunnyvale, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2024, Nokia announced plans to acquire Infinera.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Nokia Corporation
    * Timeline:
    o 2000: Founded by Drew Perkins, Jagdeep Singh, and David Welch.
    o 2024: Nokia announces acquisition of Infinera for $2.3 billion.

Qlik Technologies

  • Founded: 1993, Radnor, Pennsylvania
  • Acquisition Event: In 2023, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invested in Qlik, acquiring a significant stake.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)
  • Timeline:
    o 1993: Founded in Lund, Sweden; later moved headquarters to the U.S.
    o 2016: Acquired by Thoma Bravo, a U.S. private equity firm.
    o 2023: ADIA invests $1 billion, valuing Qlik at approximately $10 billion.

Compaq Computer Corporation

  • Founded: 1982, Houston, Texas
  • Acquisition Event: In 2002, Hewlett-Packard (HP), a U.S. company, acquired Compaq; later, elements of Compaq's business were sold to foreign entities.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Elements of Compaq's assets eventually contributed to international operations, particularly in Europe and Asia.
  • Timeline:
    o 1982: Founded by Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill Murto.
    o 2002: Merged with Hewlett-Packard in a $24 billion deal.
    o Post-2002: Certain product lines influenced HP's global expansion, particularly in Asian markets.

AMD's Manufacturing Operations (GlobalFoundries)

  • Founded: 1969, Sunnyvale, California (AMD)
  • Acquisition Event: In 2009, AMD spun off its manufacturing division, which was partially acquired by the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), Abu Dhabi.
  • Timeline:
    o 1969: AMD founded by Jerry Sanders.
    o 2009: Manufacturing division spun off as GlobalFoundries, with ATIC holding a majority stake.
    o 2012: ATIC fully acquired GlobalFoundries.

AT&T BellSouth Wireless Assets (Cingular)

  • Founded: 1984, Atlanta, Georgia (BellSouth)
  • Acquisition Event: In 2004, Vodafone, a British telecommunications giant, acquired a significant stake in AT&T's wireless division assets.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Vodafone Group.
  • Timeline:
    o 1984: BellSouth founded as a regional telecom operator.
    o 2004: Vodafone's acquisition marked global integration with wireless technologies.

Sprint Corporation

  • Founded: 1899, Abilene, Kansas
  • Acquisition Event: In 2013, Japanese telecom giant SoftBank acquired a majority stake in Sprint.
  • Foreign Acquirer: SoftBank Group.
  • Timeline:
    o 1899: Founded as Brown Telephone Company.
    o 2013: SoftBank acquired a 78% stake for $21.6 billion.
    o 2020: Merged with T-Mobile US.

Lexmark International

  • Founded: 1991, Lexington, Kentucky
  • Acquisition Event: In 2016, a consortium led by Apex Technology (China) and PAG Asia Capital acquired Lexmark.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Apex Technology and PAG Asia Capital (China).
  • Timeline:
    o 1991: Founded as a spin-off from IBM's printer business.
    o 2016: Acquired for $3.6 billion by the Chinese consortium.

McAfee, Inc.

  • Founded: 1987, Santa Clara, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2011, Intel Corporation acquired McAfee, but it was later partially sold to a foreign consortium in 2016.
  • Foreign Acquirer: TPG and Thoma Bravo (private equity firms with significant international ties).
  • Timeline:
    o 1987: Founded by John McAfee.
    o 2011: Acquired by Intel Corporation for $7.68 billion.
    o 2016: Majority stake sold to TPG Capital and Thoma Bravo.

Boston Dynamics

  • Founded: 1992, Waltham, Massachusetts
  • Acquisition Event: In 2013, acquired by Google (U.S.), then sold to Japan's SoftBank in 2017.
  • Foreign Acquirer: SoftBank Group.
  • Timeline:
    o 1992: Founded by Marc Raibert.
    o 2013: Google acquires Boston Dynamics.
    o 2017: SoftBank acquires Boston Dynamics.

Belkin International

  • Founded: 1983, Playa Vista, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2018, Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn acquired Belkin.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Foxconn Technology Group.
  • Timeline:
    o 1983: Founded by Chet Pipkin.
    o 2018: Foxconn acquires Belkin for $866 million.

Sandisk Corporation

  • Founded: 1988, Milpitas, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Western Digital (U.S.), with international stakeholders in 2015.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Western Digital later integrated into global operations involving Japanese partners.
  • Timeline:
    o 1988: Sandisk founded by Eli Harari.
    o 2015: Acquired by Western Digital.

Tech Data Corporation

  • Founded: 1974, Clearwater, Florida
  • Acquisition Event: In 2020, Apollo Global Management acquired Tech Data and later merged it with SYNNEX Corporation, creating TD SYNNEX in 2021.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Apollo Global Management, a U.S.-based company with significant international operations, later merged assets with SYNNEX, a company with global stakeholders.
  • Timeline:
    o 1974: Founded by Edward C. Raymund.
    o 2020: Acquired by Apollo Global Management in a $6 billion deal.
    o 2021: Merged with SYNNEX Corporation to create TD SYNNEX, a global IT distributor.

RCA (Radio Corporation of America)

  • Founded: 1919, New York City, New York
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Thomson SA, a French electronics company, in 1986.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Thomson SA (later renamed Technicolor SA).
  • Timeline:
    o 1919: RCA founded as a subsidiary of General Electric.
    o 1929: Became independent and grew as a dominant force in electronics and broadcasting.
    o 1986: Acquired by Thomson SA.

Lucent Technologies (formerly part of AT&T Bell Labs)

  • Founded: 1996, Murray Hill, New Jersey
  • Acquisition Event: Merged with French telecommunications company Alcatel in 2006 to form Alcatel-Lucent.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Alcatel (France).
  • Timeline:
    o 1996: Spun off from AT&T as Lucent Technologies.
    o 2006: Merged with Alcatel.
    o 2016: Alcatel-Lucent acquired by Nokia (Finland).

Varian Associates (Medical Technology)

  • Founded: 1948, Palo Alto, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2020, Varian Medical Systems (a spin-off of Varian Associates) was acquired by Siemens Healthineers, a German company.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Siemens Healthineers (Germany).
  • Timeline:
    o 1948: Varian Associates founded by Russell Varian and Sigurd Varian.
    o 1999: Split into multiple companies, including Varian Medical Systems.
    o 2020: Siemens Healthineers acquires Varian Medical Systems for $16.4 billion.

3Com Corporation

  • Founded: 1979, Santa Clara, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2010, which then sold assets to H3C, a Chinese company.
  • Foreign Acquirer: H3C Technologies (China).
  • Timeline:
    o 1979: Founded by Robert Metcalfe.
    o 2010: Acquired by HP for $2.7 billion.
    o 2015: H3C, part of Tsinghua Unigroup (China), acquires 3Com's assets.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE)

  • Founded: 1996 (as part of Lucent Technologies), New Jersey
  • Acquisition Event: In 2014, ALE was acquired by China Huaxin Post and Telecommunications Economy Development Center.
  • Foreign Acquirer: China Huaxin (China).
  • Timeline:
    o 1996: Formed as a division of Lucent Technologies.
    o 2006: Became part of Alcatel-Lucent.
    o 2014: Acquired by China Huaxin.

Fairchild Semiconductor

  • Founded: 1957, Mountain View, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by ON Semiconductor, a U.S. company with significant international operations, in 2016.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Partial foreign interests via ON Semiconductor's global integration.
  • Timeline:
    o 1957: Founded by Sherman Fairchild.
    o 2016: Acquired by ON Semiconductor for $2.4 billion.

PeopleSoft

  • Founded: 1987, Walnut Creek, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2005, with Oracle's international operations influencing its product development.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Oracle Corporation operates globally, with substantial foreign interests.
  • Timeline:
    o 1987: PeopleSoft founded by David Duffield and Ken Morris.
    o 2005: Acquired by Oracle for $10.3 billion.

MIPS Technologies

  • Founded: 1984, Sunnyvale, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2013, acquired by Imagination Technologies, a UK company.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Imagination Technologies (United Kingdom).
  • Timeline:
    o 1984: MIPS Technologies founded by John L. Hennessy.
    o 2013: Acquired by Imagination Technologies for $100 million.

Micronas Semiconductor

  • Founded: 1950, Garland, Texas (as Micronas USA)
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by TDK Corporation, a Japanese company, in 2016.
  • Foreign Acquirer: TDK Corporation (Japan).
  • Timeline:
    o 1950: Micronas USA established as part of U.S. semiconductor innovation.
    o 2016: Acquired by TDK for $200 million.

LSI Corporation

  • Founded: 1981, Milpitas, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Avago Technologies (Singapore) in 2014, which later became Broadcom Inc.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Avago Technologies (Singapore).
  • Timeline:
    o 1981: Founded by Wilfred Corrigan, Bill O'Meara, and Rob Walker.
    o 2014: Acquired by Avago Technologies for $6.6 billion.

Symantec's Enterprise Division

  • Founded: 1982, Sunnyvale, California
  • Acquisition Event: In 2019, Symantec's enterprise security business was acquired by Broadcom Inc. (Singapore/U.S.).
  • Foreign Acquirer: Broadcom Inc. (global entity with Singapore ties).
  • Timeline:
    o 1982: Symantec founded by Gary Hendrix.
    o 2019: Acquired by Broadcom for $10.7 billion.

Wind River Systems

  • Founded: 1981, Alameda, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Intel Corporation in 2009 and later sold to TPG Capital, which has international investments, in 2018.
  • Foreign Acquirer: TPG Capital (global private equity firm).
  • Timeline:
    o 1981: Founded by Jerry Fiddler and David Wilner.
    o 2009: Acquired by Intel for $884 million.
    o 2018: TPG Capital acquires Wind River from Intel.

Brocade Communications Systems

  • Founded: 1995, San Jose, California
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Broadcom Inc. in 2017, which has global operations influenced by its Singapore origins.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Broadcom Inc.
  • Timeline:
    o 1995: Founded by Seth Neiman, Kumar Malavalli, and Paul Bonderson.
    o 2017: Acquired by Broadcom for $5.9 billion.

Mentor Graphics

  • Founded: 1981, Wilsonville, Oregon
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Siemens AG, a German multinational, in 2017.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Siemens AG (Germany).
  • Timeline:
    o 1981: Founded by Tom Bruggere.
    o 2017: Siemens acquires Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion.

Harman International Industries

  • Founded: 1980, Stamford, Connecticut
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Samsung Electronics (South Korea) in 2017.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Samsung Electronics (South Korea).
  • Timeline:
    o 1980: Founded by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon.
    o 2017: Samsung acquires Harman for $8 billion.

Control Data Corporation (CDC)

  • Founded: 1957, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Syntegra, a division of British Telecom (BT), in 1999.
  • Foreign Acquirer: British Telecom (UK).
  • Timeline:
    o 1957: CDC founded by Seymour Cray and William Norris.
    o 1999: Acquired by British Telecom's Syntegra division.

Texas Instruments (Consumer Products Division)

  • Founded: 1930, Dallas, Texas (as Geophysical Service Incorporated)
  • Acquisition Event: The consumer products division was sold to Hong Kong-based companies in the 1990s.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Multiple Hong Kong-based investors.
  • Timeline:
    o 1930: Founded by J. Erik Jonsson, Cecil Green, and Eugene McDermott.
    o 1990s: Consumer electronics division sold to foreign entities.

Intergraph Corporation

  • Founded: 1969, Madison, Alabama
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Hexagon AB, a Swedish technology company, in 2010.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Hexagon AB (Sweden).
  • Timeline:
    o 1969: Founded by M. Patrick McKee and James F. Taylor.
    o 2010: Acquired by Hexagon for $2.1 billion.

IM Flash Technologies (Micron and Intel JV)

  • Founded: 2006, Boise, Idaho
  • Acquisition Event: Acquired by Micron Technology in 2019, a U.S.-based multinational with international operations.
  • Foreign Acquirer: Not directly acquired by foreign entities but operates internationally.
  • Timeline:
    o 2006: Founded as a joint venture between Intel and Micron.
    o 2019: Fully acquired by Micron Technology.

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