Loews Corporation
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Loews Corporation is an American conglomerate headquartered in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The company's majority-stake holdings include
CNA Financial Corporation CNA Financial Corporation is a financial corporation based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its principal subsidiary, Continental Casualty Company (CCC), was founded in 1897. CNA, the current parent company, was incorporated in 1967. CNA is t ...
,
Diamond Offshore Drilling Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. is an offshore drilling contractor. The company is headquartered in Katy, Texas, United States, and has major offices in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Scotland, Singapore, and Norway. The company operates 15 drilling ...
,
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP, which conducts business through its primary subsidiary Boardwalk Pipelines, LP and its subsidiaries, is an energy company based in Houston, Texas. It is a master limited partnership operating in the midstream por ...
,
Loews Hotels Loews Hotels is an American luxury hospitality company that owns or operates 26 hotels in the United States and Canada. Loews' hotels and resorts are located in major North American city centers and resort destinations. Headquartered in New Yor ...
and Altium Packaging. The corporation positions itself as a value investor with a long-term focus. In recent years, Loews has also allocated significant capital for share buybacks. In the three years ended December 31, 2012, Loews spent $1.3 billion
repurchasing shares Share repurchase, also known as share buyback or stock buyback, is the re-acquisition by a company of its own shares. It represents an alternate and more flexible way (relative to dividends) of returning money to shareholders. When used in coord ...
. Between 1971 and 2020, the corporation reduced its shares outstanding from 1.3 billion shares to 291 million shares.


History

Loews Corporation traces its roots to 1946 when
Laurence Tisch Laurence Alan Tisch (March 5, 1923 – November 15, 2003) was an American businessman, investor and billionaire. He was the CEO of CBS television network from 1986 to 1995. With his brother Bob Tisch, he was part owner of Loews Corporation. ...
persuaded his parents to invest $125,000 to buy a resort hotel in
Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...
. Laurence's brother
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
joined the business shortly thereafter. The Tisch brothers began to invest their profits in expanding the hotel business. By 1956, the brothers were in a position to build their first hotel, the Americana in
Bal Harbour, Florida Bal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 3,093 at the 2020 US Census. History Since the 1920s, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation—headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs ...
, for $17 million in cash. In the wake of the landmark 1948
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
antitrust ruling in ''
United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'', 334 U.S. 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Case, or the Paramount Decision), was a landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case that decided the f ...
'', all the major movie studios, including
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
(MGM), were ordered to sell off the movie theater chains they owned and operated. The Tisch brothers purchased a controlling interest in Loew's Theatres from MGM in 1959, a nationwide chain of 102 movie theaters. This acquisition formed the foundation of the modern-day Loews Corporation, and the company was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
that same year. By the summer of 1960, the brothers had gained control of the company; the brothers became co-chairmen. The theaters were aging and not suited to then-current movie-going trends, which anticipated the
multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...
; however, the theaters were located on highly valuable city property. Almost immediately, the Tisch brothers began closing and demolishing many of these theaters to selling the vacant lots to developers. This hastened the end of the classic movie "palaces" from the
Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
. The brothers soon diversified the Loews business, successfully venturing into a variety of areas as the 1960s and 1970s progressed. Loews acquired
Lorillard Tobacco Company Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport, Maverick, Old Gold, Kent, True, Satin, and Max. The company had two operating segments: cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. Th ...
in 1968,
CNA Financial CNA Financial Corporation is a financial corporation based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its principal subsidiary, Continental Casualty Company (CCC), was founded in 1897. CNA, the current parent company, was incorporated in 1967. CNA is t ...
in 1974, and the
Bulova Watch Company Bulova is an American timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 and has been owned by Japanese multinational conglomerate Citizen Watch Co. since 2008. The company makes watches, clocks and accessories, and it is based in New York ...
in 1979. Through acquisitions, Loews's revenues grew from $100 million in 1970 to more than $3 billion by a decade later. Loews sold the theater business in 1985 (it continued operating under the ''Loew's'' brand name, while the investment operates as ''Loews''). Laurence Tisch briefly owned, through Loews, a significant portion of US television and radio broadcaster
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in the 1980s. As chairman of CBS, he also approved the deal that brought late-night host David Letterman to the network from
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. Loews involvement in CBS ended in 1995, with the sale of CBS to
Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
for $5.4 billion. In the past two decades, Loews further diversified into the energy business. In 1989, the company acquired Diamond M Drilling. The subsidiary acquired ODECO in 1992, adding 39 oil rigs. A year later, the combined businesses were renamed Diamond Offshore. The operating subsidiary, which went public in 1995, provides contract drilling services to the energy industry globally. In 2003, Loews purchased Texas Gas Transmission, then bought Gulf South Pipeline Company a year later. These two companies were consolidated into a new entity, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, which went public in 2005. Structured as a midstream master limited partnership (MLP), Boardwalk Pipeline provides transportation, storage, gathering, and processing of natural gas and liquids for its customers. On May 10, 2006, Loews Corporation announced that it would offer 15 million shares of Carolina Group via a public offering, with the proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes. The sale's value was $740 million. Loews Corporation was the parent company of
Bulova Bulova is an American timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 and has been owned by Japanese multinational conglomerate Citizen Watch Co. since 2008. The company makes watches, clocks and accessories, and it is based in New York ...
until 2007, when it sold the company to
Citizen Watch is an electronics company primarily known for its watches and is the core company of a Japanese global corporate group based in Nishitokyo, Tokyo, Japan. In addition to Citizen brand watches, it is the parent of American watch company Bulova, a ...
. On June 4, 2007, Loews Corporation announced it would acquire a portion of the operations of
Dominion Resources Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas t ...
for 4.025 billion dollars. Loews rebranded the assets HighMount Exploration & Production. This wholly owned subsidiary is engaged in the exploration and production of natural gas and natural gas liquids. On May 23, 2014, Loews announced that HighMount is pursuing strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of business. HighMont was sold later that year to the private equity firm EnerVest. On December 17, 2007, Loews Corporation announced a plan to spin off its entire ownership interest in Lorillard to holders of Carolina Group stock and Loews common stock.


Management

Founders Laurence and Robert Tisch served as co-CEOs until 1998 when they retired as part of a generational shift in corporate leadership. That year, James Tisch was named president and CEO, and the Office of the president was created with three members: James Tisch, Andrew Tisch, and Jonathan Tisch. In 2006, Jonathan Tisch and Andrew Tisch were elected co-chairmen of the board. The company has issued only a single class of common stock and all shareholders have equal voting rights. Other senior officers include Jane Wang, chief financial officer and senior vice president, Richard W. Scott chief investment officer and Sr. VP, Marc A. Alpert, secretary and general counsel and Sr. VP, and Kenneth I. Siegel, senior vice president.


Governance

The current members of the board of directors of Loews Corporation are Ann E. Berman, Joseph L. Bower, Charles D. Davidson, Charles M. Diker, Paul J. Fribourg, Walter L. Harris, Philip A. Laskawy, Susan P. Peters, Anthony Welters, Andrew H. Tisch, James S. Tisch and Jonathan M. Tisch.


Restatement

On February 13, 2003, the company restated its financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2001 to 2000 as well as its interim financial statements for the first three quarters of 2002 to reflect an adjustment to the company's historical accounting for CNA's investment in life settlement contracts and the related revenue recognition. On March 19, 2003, the company announced a revision to its previously reported fourth-quarter and year-end 2002 results to reflect an additional $28.9 million of impairment losses on equity securities at the company's CNA Financial Corporation subsidiary. On February 16, 2006, the company restated results from 2001 through September 2005 to correct accounting for discontinued operations acquired in CNA's merger with the Continental Corp. in 1995. On March 8, 2006, the company said that financial statements for periods from 2001 to 2004 and the first three quarters of 2005 shouldn't be relied on because of accounting classification errors at its majority-owned subsidiary CNA Financial Corp, and it would restate financial statements for 2003 and 2004 and for the first three quarters of 2005 to correct the classification errors.


References


External links

*
Yahoo! - Loews Corporation Company ProfileForbes.com: Forbes 400 Richest in America - Tisch, Preston Robert
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Publicly traded companies based in New York City Tisch family Conglomerate companies of the United States