Alleghany Corporation is an American investment holding company originally created by the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
entrepreneurs
Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 1929 and
reincorporated in Delaware in 1984. On March 21, 2022,
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...
made an $11.6 billion offer to acquire the company, which completed in October 2022.
After the company's bankruptcy in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, control of the company fell into the hands of
Robert Ralph Young and Allan Price Kirby. Young used the company as a vehicle for his vendetta against the
J.P. Morgan
JP may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell
* ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine
* ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper
* Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band
* ''Jurassic Park ...
banking interests, who had financed the Van Sweringens and managed to defeat them and the
Vanderbilt interests in a 1954
proxy fight
A proxy fight, proxy contest or proxy battle (sometimes even called a proxy war) is an unfriendly contest for the control over an organization. The event usually occurs when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corp ...
for the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
. The failing New York Central was in worse shape than Young had bargained for and he committed suicide shortly after being forced to suspend the dividend in January 1958. After Young's death, his role in NYC management was assumed by his protégé
Alfred E. Perlman
Alfred Edward Perlman (November 22, 1902—April 30, 1983) was a railroad executive, having served as president of the Penn Central Transportation Company and its predecessor, the New York Central Railroad.
Early career
Perlman graduated from ...
. Although much had been accomplished to streamline NYC operations, in those tough economic times, mergers with other railroads were seen as the only possible road to financial stability. The most likely suitor became the NYC's former arch-rival
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
. During the early 1960s, New York Central negotiated a merger with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was led by
Stuart T. Saunders after 1963. Saunders had most recently led the
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
through a successful expansion through acquisition and mergers including the
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
History
...
,
Nickel Plate Road
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York (state), Ne ...
and
Wabash Railway
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary co ...
. There was great hope that success would result from the NYC-PRR combination.
Penn Central Transportation Company
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
was formed by the merger on February 1, 1968. However, the underlying financial weakness of both former railroads, combined with the fact that the
ICC forced the chronically weak
New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
into the system, doomed the Penn Central and bankruptcy was declared a little over 2 years later, on June 21, 1970. Many of the Penn Central railroad assets ended up in
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
, formed in 1976. The bankruptcy of the
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
railroad mostly ended Alleghany's involvement in the railroad business.
The company's residual railroad investments led to president and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
John J. Burns serving on the board of
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC is the parent company of the BNSF Railway (formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway). The company is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of
Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by investor Warre ...
from 1995 to 2004.
Now Alleghany Corporation focuses on the insurance business (property, casualty, surety and fidelity insurance). Until his death in February 2011, Allan Kirby's son, Fred M. Kirby 2nd, was the chairman of the board and a sometime member of the
Forbes 400
The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is publ ...
list of richest Americans.
Current portfolio
Alleghany's current portfolio includes:
*
TransRe
TransRe was formed in New York City, USA in 1977 as a facultative Reinsurance division of AIG and wrote its first business on January 1, 1978. Its second office opened in Toronto in 1980, followed by expansion to Europe (London) and Asia Pacific ...
, a reinsurer acquired in 2012
*RSUI, an insurer acquired in 2003
*CapSpecialty, formerly Capitol Insurance Companies, an insurer acquired in 2002
*Alleghany Capital, which owns and manages middle market businesses, including:
** Precision Cutting Technologies, a holding company for machine tool manufacturers Bourn & Koch, Diamond Technology Innovations, CID Performance Tooling, and Supermill
** R.C. Tway Company (dba Kentucky Trailer), a trailer manufacturer for the moving industry
** W&W/AFCO Steel, a steel fabricator and erector
** Wilbert Funeral Services, concrete burial vault manufacturer
** IPS-Integrated Project Services, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology service provider
** Jazwares, a toy and consumer products company, and owner of Kellytoy and Wicked Cool Toys
** Concord Hospitality, which develops, owns, and operates hotels for Hyatt, Hilton, Mariott, and other brands
*Alleghany Properties, a property company
Former holdings
Former holdings include:
*
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
, now
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
*
PacificComp
Alleghany Corporation is an American investment holding company originally created by the railroad entrepreneurs Van Sweringen brothers, Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 19 ...
, an insurer acquired in 2007 Sold to
CopperPoint Mutual in 2017.
*
World Minerals
Imerys S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index.
Imerys has operations ...
, sold to
Imerys
Imerys S.A. is a French multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index.
Imerys has operations in over 40 countries and ...
in 2005
*
Chicago Title
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a Fortune 500 company, is a provider of title insurance and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries. FNF generated approximately $8.469 billion in annual revenue in 2019 fro ...
, spun off in 1997, owned by Fidelity National Financial since 2000
*
Underwriters Reinsurance Company, sold to Swiss Re American Holding Corporation in 2000
*
IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company, sold to
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
in 1984
*
The Shelby Insurance Company
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, sold to
The Associated Group
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
in 1991
*
Stranded Oil Resources Corporation
Stranded may refer to:
Music Albums and EPs
* Stranded (album), ''Stranded'' (album), a 1973 album by Roxy Music
* ''Stranded'', a 1990 album by Tangier (band), Tangier
* ''Stranded'', a 1992 EP by Konkhra
* ''(I'm) Stranded'', a 1977 album by A ...
, an oil exploration and production company, sold to
Laredo Oil
Laredo may refer to:
Places
* Laredo, Cantabria, the original Spanish town with this name
* Laredo District, La Libertad, Peru
United States and Mexico
* Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, a bi-national metropolitan area
** Laredo, Texas
*** Downtown Lar ...
at the end of 2020.
Laredo Oil Purchases Stranded Oil Resources Corp
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Financial services companies established in 1929
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Holding companies established in 1929
Holding companies based in New York City
Insurance companies based in New York City
Investment companies based in New York City
United States railroad holding companies
2022 mergers and acquisitions
Berkshire Hathaway