CoreStates Financial Corporation , previously known as Philadelphia National Bank (PNB), was an American bank holding company in the Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , metropolitan area.
80-503: The bank was renamed in the mid-1980s after a series of mergers. After being acquired by First Union Corporation , which later also acquired Wachovia National Bank to become Wachovia Corporation , CoreStates Financial Corporation became a part of Wells Fargo in 2008 when Wachovia (formerly known as First Union) was acquired by that company. The bank was founded in Philadelphia on September 8, 1803, as The Philadelphia Bank. George Clymer
160-487: A bidding war with the giant distillery Seagram Company Ltd. Seagram became DuPont's largest single shareholder, with four seats on the board of directors. On April 6, 1995, after being approached by Seagram Chief Executive Officer Edgar Bronfman Jr. , DuPont announced a deal in which the company would buy back all the shares owned by Seagram. In 1999, DuPont spun off Conoco and sold all of its shares. Conoco later merged with Phillips Petroleum Company . DuPont acquired
240-494: A corporate reorganization in 1968, a predecessor of First Union National Bank and First Union Mortgage Corporation, the mortgage banking firm acquired in 1964 became subsidiaries of First Union Corp creating the structure the bank utilized until the 2001 merger. Starting in 1985, with the Supreme Court decision upholding regional interstate banking legislation, First Union focused on an aggressive growth strategy. From 1985 through
320-541: A diverse range of technologies for many markets including agriculture, genetic traits, biofuels , automotive, construction, electronics, chemicals, and industrial materials. In 2002, the company sold the Clysar business to Bemis Company for $ 143 million. In 2004, the company sold its textiles business, which included some of its best-known brands such as Lycra ( Spandex ), Dacron polyester, Orlon acrylic, Antron nylon and Thermolite, to Koch Industries . In May 2007
400-537: A diversified industrial firm. CFO Lori Koch was named CEO effective 1 June 2024, as current CEO Ed Breen transitioned to executive chairman. The split is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months. The company's corporate headquarters and experimental station were located in Wilmington, Delaware . The company's manufacturing, processing, marketing, and research and development facilities, as well as regional purchasing offices and distribution centers were located throughout
480-422: A new identity that is "fundamentally different" from DowDuPont. The company published a list of sustainability commitments to be achieved by 2030. In February 2020, DuPont announced that it is bringing back Edward D. Breen as its CEO after removing former Chief Executive Marc Doyle and CFO Jeanmarie Desmond less than a year after they assumed their roles. Lori D. Koch, previously head of investor relations, assumed
560-504: A specialist in home equity loans known for its commercials featuring Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizutto and pitcher Jim Palmer . Two years later, it closed the unit, writing off $ 1.7 billion in losses. On April 16, 2001, First Union announced it would merge with Wachovia. This was viewed with great surprise by the financial press and security analysts. While Wachovia had been viewed as an acquisition candidate after running into problems with earnings and credit quality in 2000,
640-437: Is a more stable oil with greater flexibility in food and industrial applications." Plenish is genetically engineered to "block the formation of enzymes that continue the cascade downstream from oleic acid (that produces saturated fats), resulting in an accumulation of the desirable monounsaturated acid." In October 2001, the company sold its pharmaceutical business to Bristol Myers Squibb for $ 7.798 billion. In 2011, DuPont
720-527: Is next door to the original location of the Bank of North America at 305 Chestnut. PNB, on the other hand, maintained a reputation for financial caution and civic responsibility. On occasion, the bank made headlines for quiet innovations, such as when during the late 1960s it led all the nation's banks in ending the practice of "redlining" poorer neighborhoods so that personal and small business loans could be extended to residents of poorer city districts, or when, during
800-526: Is not to be confused with Girard Bank , which was created by several prominent Philadelphia businessmen after Girard's death and named in his honor.) Five years later, Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States , which was directed for most of the period 1816 to 1836 by Nicholas Biddle , the nation's first chief banker and scion of the city's most iconic family. The Philadelphia National Bank
880-644: Is used in armor, belts, hoses, composite structures, cable sheathing, gaskets, brake pads, clutch linings, friction pads, slot insulation , phase barrier insulation, and interturn insulation. Following the DuPont and Dow merger and subsequent spinoff, this product line remained with DuPont. On the company's 200th anniversary in 2002, it was presented with the Honor Award by the National Building Museum in recognition of DuPont's "products that directly influence
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#1733085593766960-628: The Bank of North America , the first bank chartered in the United States. Once the merger finalized, First Union claimed 1781 as its founding date. It continued to operate The Bank of North America's first branch at 6th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia , which opened in 1782. It is now the longest continuously operated branch in the nation, and is part of Wells Fargo through multiple subsequent mergers. The acquisition of CoreStates brought problems. Many of these arose when First Union attempted to integrate
1040-518: The Clayton Antitrust Act forced DuPont to divest its shares of General Motors. In the 1920s, DuPont continued its emphasis on materials science , hiring Wallace Carothers to work on polymers in 1928. Carothers invented neoprene , a synthetic rubber ; the first polyester super polymer ; and, in 1935, nylon . The invention of Teflon followed a few years later and has since been proven responsible for health problems in those exposed to
1120-532: The Dow Chemical Company agreed to a reorganization plan in which the two companies would merge and split into three. As a merged entity, DuPont simultaneously acquired Dow and renamed itself to DowDuPont on August 31, 2017, and after 18 months spun off the merged entity's material science divisions into a new corporate entity bearing Dow Chemical's name and agribusiness divisions into the newly created Corteva ; DowDuPont reverted its name to DuPont and kept
1200-665: The Hanford plutonium producing plant in Hanford, Washington . In 1950 DuPont also agreed to build the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina as part of the effort to create a hydrogen bomb . DuPont was one of an estimated 150 American companies that provided Nazi Germany with patents, technology and material resources that proved crucial to the German war effort . DuPont maintained business connections with various corporations in
1280-840: The Niagara River at Tonawanda, New York , the Sabine River Works Plant in Orange, Texas , and the Parlin Site in Sayreville, New Jersey . The facilities in Vadodara , Gujarat and Hyderabad , Telangana in India constituted the DuPont Services Center and DuPont Knowledge Center respectively. The European Commission opened a probe to assess whether the proposed merger was in line with
1360-975: The Pioneer Hi-Bred agricultural seed company in 1999. DuPont ranked 86th in the Fortune 500 on the strength of nearly $ 36 billion in revenues, $ 4.848 billion in profits in 2013. In April 2014, Forbes ranked DuPont 171st on its Global 2000, the listing of the world's top public companies. During this time, DuPont businesses were organized into the following five categories, known as marketing "platforms": Electronic and Communication Technologies, Performance Materials, Coatings and Color Technologies, Safety and Protection, and Agriculture and Nutrition. The agriculture division, DuPont Pioneer , made and sold hybrid seed and genetically modified seed , some of which produces genetically modified food . Genes engineered into their products included LibertyLink , which provides resistance to Bayer's Ignite Herbicide /Liberty herbicides;
1440-513: The U.S. state of Delaware and first arose as a major supplier of gunpowder. DuPont developed many polymers such as Vespel , neoprene , nylon , Corian , Teflon , Mylar , Kapton , Kevlar , Zemdrain, M5 fiber , Nomex , Tyvek , Sorona , Corfam and Lycra in the 20th century, and its scientists developed many chemicals, most notably Freon ( chlorofluorocarbons ), for the refrigerant industry. It also developed synthetic pigments and paints including ChromaFlair . In 2015, DuPont and
1520-544: The "CoreStates Center" associated with the bank holding company. In the fall of 1995, CoreStates acquired another regional rival, Meridian Bancorp , at $ 3.2 billion their largest acquisition to date. George W. Strawbridge Jr. , a Campbell Soup Company director, heir to the Strawbridge & Clothier department store fortune, and major shareholder in Meridian Bancorp, became director and largest individual shareholder in
1600-800: The $ 2.1 million DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a wildlife observatory and interpretive center on the Delaware Bay near Milford, Delaware was opened to enhance the beauty and integrity of the Delaware Estuary. The facility is state-owned and operated by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). In 2010, DuPont Pioneer received approval to market Plenish soybeans, which contain "the highest oleic acid content of any commercial soybean product, at more than 75 percent. Plenish has no trans fat, 20 percent less saturated fat than regular soybean oil, and
1680-506: The 1960s, DuPont began tests to see if it could resist a lead bullet. This research would ultimately lead to the bullet-resistant vests that are used by police and military units. In 1962, DuPont applied for a patent on the explosion welding process, which was granted on June 23, 1964, under US Patent 3,137,937[123] and resulted in the use of the Detaclad trademark to describe the process. On July 22, 1996, Dynamic Materials Corporation completed
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#17330855937661760-828: The 55-story First Union Financial Center in downtown Miami became the Wachovia Financial Center . The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum, both in Philadelphia, and First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, they became the Wachovia Center , Wachovia Spectrum , and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza , respectively. In 2010, following Wachovia's merger into Wells Fargo ,
1840-586: The CFO position. In November 2021, DuPont announced that it intended to acquire Rogers Corporation in a deal valued at $ 5.2 billion. While the deal had been approved by many other regulatory agencies, due to Chinese regulators prolonging the review, DuPont decided on November 1, 2022, to walk away from the deal. DuPont paid Rogers a termination fee of US$ 162.5 million. In May 2024, DuPont announced it would split into three publicly traded companies, separating its electronics and water businesses while continuing as
1920-470: The Clinton administration, Dan Glickman , and former Governor of Nebraska , Mike Johanns , by creating a single, independent, U.S.-based and – owned pure agriculture company, Dow and DuPont would be able to compete against their still larger global peers. The merger was not opposed by competition authorities around the world due to the view that it did not have noticeable impact on the global seed markets. On
2000-704: The CoreStates and First Union computer systems too rapidly. Initially, CoreStates’ tellers received insufficient training with the new First Union systems and the two systems were unable to communicate with each other. This led to problems with account access and payments not correctly applied to loans. First Union acquired Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. on April 30, 1998 adding to its merger and acquisition , high yield , leveraged finance , equity underwriting , private placement , loan syndication , risk management , and public finance capabilities. On June 30, 1998, First Union paid $ 2.1 billion for The Money Store ,
2080-586: The Corestates Corporation, continuing an ongoing marriage between the bank and one of the region's most iconic companies, the Campbell Soup Company , that had in the 1970s made G. Morris Dorrance Jr., scion of the Campbell clan and prominent Gladwyne, Pennsylvania , socialite, PNB's board chairman. In the rash of regional bank takeovers that occurred near the end of the twentieth century, CoreStates
2160-465: The EU's respective regulations. The Commission investigated whether the deal reduced competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and petrochemicals. The closing date for the merger was repeatedly delayed due to these regulatory inquiries. Ed Breen said the companies were negotiating possible divestitures in their pesticide operations to win approval for the deal. As part of their EU counterproposal,
2240-627: The First Union deal, rejecting SunTrust's attempts to elect a new board of directors for Wachovia and ending SunTrust's hostile takeover attempt. Another issue concerned each bank's credit card division. In April 2001, Wachovia agreed to sell its $ 8 billion credit card portfolio to Bank One . The cards, which would have still been branded as Wachovia, would have been issued through Bank One's First USA division. First Union sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA in August 2000. After entering into negotiations,
2320-639: The First Union systems, now using the Wachovia name. The company first began converting systems in the southeast United States, where both banks had branches, before moving to the Northeast, where First Union branches only had to change their signs to reflect the new company name and logo. This process ended on August 18, 2003, almost two years after the merger took place. When First Union bought Wachovia, Charlotte's One , Two , and Three First Union buildings became One, Two, and Three Wachovia Center (respectively), and
2400-804: The Herculex I Insect Protection gene, which provides protection against various insects; the Herculex RW insect protection trait, which provides protection against other insects; the YieldGard Corn Borer gene, which provides resistance to another set of insects; and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait that provides crop resistance against glyphosate herbicides. DuPont had 150 research and development facilities located in China, Brazil, India, Germany, and Switzerland, with an average investment of $ 2 billion annually in
2480-531: The Materials Science Committee. These Committees were intended to oversee their respective businesses, and would work with both CEOs on the scheduled separation of the businesses’ standalone entities. Announced in February 2018, DowDuPont's agriculture division is named Corteva Agriscience, its materials science division is named Dow, and its specialty products division is named DuPont. In March 2018, it
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2560-579: The Spectrum was demolished and the other venues became the Wells Fargo Center and the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc. , commonly shortened to DuPont , is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours . The company played a major role in the development of
2640-554: The Third Reich from 1933 until 1943 when all of DuPont's assets in Germany were seized by the Nazi government along with those of all other American companies. Irénée du Pont , a descendant of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont and the president of the company during the buildup to World War II, was also a financial supporter of Nazi Führer Adolf Hitler and keenly followed Hitler since the 1920s. After
2720-510: The US. Both duopolies would become the "big two" industry dominators. DuPont has been awarded the National Medal of Technology four times: first in 1990, for its invention of "high-performance man-made polymers such as nylon, neoprene rubber , " Teflon " fluorocarbon resin, and a wide spectrum of new fibers, films, and engineering plastics"; the second in 2002 "for policy and technology leadership in
2800-464: The acquisition of DuPont's Detaclad operations for a purchase price of $ 5,321,850 (or about $ 10.34 million today). In 1981, DuPont acquired Conoco Inc. , a major American oil and gas producing company, which gave it a secure source of petroleum feedstocks needed for the manufacturing of many of its fiber and plastics products. The acquisition, which made DuPont one of the top ten U.S.-based petroleum and natural gas producers and refiners, came about after
2880-476: The bank added Cameron-Brown company, a mortgage banking and insurance firm. First Union Corporation was incorporated in 1967. In February 1968, Cameron-Brown Co., a $ 10 billion mortgage banker created in 1955 from the merger of Fidelity Bond & Mortgage Co. started in 1946 in Raleigh and Brown-Hamel Mortgage Co. of Greensboro , changed its name to First Union Mortgage Corp. to match its parent company. As part of
2960-508: The chemical through manufacturing and home use. DuPont introduced phenothiazine as an insecticide in 1935. DuPont ranked 15th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. As the inventor and manufacturer of nylon , DuPont helped produce the raw materials for parachutes , powder bags, and tires . DuPont also played a major role in the Manhattan Project in 1943, designing, building and operating
3040-626: The cleanup of 171 former DuPont sites, which DuPont says will cost between $ 295 million and $ 945 million, was transferred to Chemours. In October 2015, DuPont sold the Neoprene chloroprene rubber business to Denka Performance Elastomers, a joint venture of Denka and Mitsui . On December 11, 2015, DuPont announced a merger with Dow Chemical Company, in an all-stock transaction. The combined company, DowDuPont, had an estimated value of $ 130 billion, being equally held by both companies’ shareholders, while also maintaining its two headquarters. The merger of
3120-461: The companies offered to dispose of a portion of DuPont's crop protection business and associated R&D, as well as Dow's acrylic acid copolymers and ionomers businesses. The remedy submission in turn delayed the commission's review deadline to April 4, 2017. The intended spins of the company businesses were expected to occur about 18 months after closing. According to the Financial Times ,
3200-634: The company at the Eleutherian Mills , on the Brandywine Creek , near Wilmington, Delaware , two years after du Pont and his family left France to escape the French Revolution and religious persecution against Huguenot Protestants. The company began as a manufacturer of gunpowder, as du Pont noticed that the industry in North America was lagging behind Europe. The company grew quickly, and by
3280-539: The company's civic commitment to the City of Philadelphia, the bank simultaneously redesigned and rebuilt SEPTA 's 5th Street/Independence Hall subway station on the Market-Frankford/Blue Line at the intersection's northeast corner, a station whose design subsequently won international awards for its striking combination of colors, textures, and materials. First Union Corporation First Union Corporation
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3360-531: The company. On May 1, 2012, DuPont announced that it had acquired from Bunge full ownership of the Solae joint venture, a soy-based ingredients company. DuPont previously owned 72 percent of the joint venture while Bunge owned the remaining 28 percent. In February 2013, DuPont Performance Coatings was sold to the Carlyle Group and rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems . In October 2013, DuPont announced that it
3440-458: The construction and design process in the building industry." In 2005, BusinessWeek magazine, in conjunction with the Climate Group, ranked DuPont as the best-practice leader in cutting their carbon gas emissions. DuPont reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 65 percent from the 1990 levels while using 7 percent less energy and producing 30 percent more product. In 2012 DuPont
3520-625: The deal appeal to investors, SunTrust argued that it would provide a smoother transition than First Union and offered a higher cash price for Wachovia stock than First Union. Wachovia's board of directors rejected SunTrust's offer and supported the merger with First Union. SunTrust continued its hostile takeover attempt, leading to a bitter battle over the summer between SunTrust and First Union. Both banks increased their offers for Wachovia, took out newspaper ads, mailed letters to shareholders, and initiated court battles to challenge each other's takeover bids. On August 3, 2001, Wachovia shareholders approved
3600-570: The double-base powders combining nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine . DuPont subsequently developed the Improved Military Rifle (IMR) line of smokeless powders . In 1910, DuPont published a brochure entitled "Farming with Dynamite". The pamphlet was instructional, outlining the benefits to using their dynamite products on stumps and various other obstacles that would be easier to remove with dynamite as opposed to other more conventional and inefficient means. DuPont also established two of
3680-547: The explosives business constituted a monopoly and ordered divestment . The court ruling resulted in the creation of the Hercules Powder Company (later Hercules Inc. and now part of Ashland Inc. ) and the Atlas Powder Company (purchased by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and now part of AkzoNobel ). At the time of divestment, DuPont retained the single-base nitrocellulose powders, while Hercules held
3760-464: The extent it did its more highly exposed crosstown rival, First Pennsylvania, which never completely recovered from the temporary collapse of the real estate investment trust (REIT) industry and was eventually purchased by PNB in 1990. PNB's first merger involved Hamilton Bank of central Pennsylvania in 1982; later, in the mid-1980s, it would take control of New Jersey National Bank of Trenton, New Jersey. Corestates Financial Corporation evolved out of
3840-558: The first industrial laboratories in the United States, where they began the work on cellulose chemistry, lacquers and other non-explosive products. DuPont Central Research was established at the DuPont Experimental Station , across the Brandywine Creek from the original powder mills. In 1914, Pierre S. du Pont invested in the fledgling automobile industry, buying stock in General Motors (GM). The following year he
3920-647: The largest financial holding companies in the U.S. As of the end of 2000, First Union had over $ 171 billion of total assets, over 70,000 employees and 2,193 branches. After their acquisition of Wachovia, they assumed the name and stock ticket symbol of the latter company. First Union Corporation was founded as Union National Bank on June 2, 1908, a small banking desk in the lobby of a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina , by H. M. Victor. The bank merged with First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheville in 1958 to become First Union National Bank of North Carolina. In 1964,
4000-505: The loss of stature from losing a major corporate headquarters. First Union was concerned by the potential deposit attrition and customer loss in the city. First Union responded to these concerns by placing the wealth management and Carolinas-region headquarters in Winston-Salem. On May 14, 2001, SunTrust announced a rival takeover bid for Wachovia, the first hostile takeover attempt in the banking sector in many years. In its effort to make
4080-453: The major financial capitals of the world with headquarters of its subsidiary, Philadelphia International Bank (PIB), in London and New York City , through its practice of Correspondent banking . PNB was particularly aggressive in the then-developing Middle East oil-rich states. The real estate bust of the late 1970s, accompanied by high interest rates and rates of foreclosure, did not hurt PNB to
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#17330855937664160-578: The majority of financial institution assets in South Carolina, something that had never happened in any state since regional banking began in 1986. In 1995, First Union acquired First Fidelity of Newark, New Jersey to expand to the Northeast . In April 1998, First Union acquired CoreStates Financial Corporation , headquartered in Philadelphia . At the time, this was the largest merger in U.S. banking history. CoreStates traced its history to 1781 and
4240-504: The merger as of April, 2017, although the decision was said to consist of over a thousand pages and was expected to take several months to be released publicly. As part of the approval, Dow must also sell off two acrylic acid co-polymers manufacturing facilities in Spain and the US. China conditionally cleared the merger in May, 2017. According to former United States Secretary of Agriculture during
4320-514: The merger of PNB with Hamilton. Meanwhile, Corestates Bank of Delaware would focus on lending to the many corporations, including chemical giant DuPont , headquartered in the low-tax First State just south of the Pennsylvania border. After it acquired First Pennsylvania Bank in 1990, CoreStates/PNB spent $ 20 million to win naming rights for 20 years for the new arena being built next to Philadelphia's Spectrum that would subsequently be known as
4400-457: The merger was "on track for approval in March" 2017. Dow Chemical and DuPont postponed the planned deadline during late March, as they struck an $ 1.6 billion asset swap with FMC Corporation in order to win the antitrust clearances. DuPont acquired the corporation's health and nutrition business, while selling its herbicide and insecticide properties. The European Commission conditionally approved
4480-539: The merger with Wachovia in 2001, First Union completed over 90 banking-related acquisitions, 50 of which were completed between 1985 and 1995. Atlantic National Bank in Jacksonville, Florida , merged with First Union in 1985. In a deal announced in June 1992, First Union acquired South Carolina Federal Corp., making First Union the third largest bank in South Carolina by deposits, but also giving North Carolina-based banks
4560-606: The mid-19th century had become the largest supplier of preppy gunpowder to the United States military , supplying one-third to one-half the powder used by the Union Army during the American Civil War . The Eleutherian Mills site is now a museum and a National Historic Landmark . DuPont continued to expand, moving into the production of dynamite and smokeless powder . In 1902, DuPont's president, Eugene du Pont , died, and
4640-460: The middle 1970s, the bank helped universalize ATM banking by building one of the nation's first and largest network of banking machines, known by their acronym, "MAC", for Money Access Center or Money Access Card . By the dawn of the new age of banking in the late 1970s and 1980s, when lending grew highly competitive and banks began vying for power and influence by buying each other, PNB was well positioned to compete. It maintained offices in all of
4720-518: The new Wachovia agreed to buy back its portfolio from Bank One in September 2001 and resell it to MBNA. Wachovia paid Bank One a $ 350 million termination fee . On September 4, 2001, First Union officially completed its purchase of Wachovia National Bank to formally become the newly named Wachovia Corporation. In order to prevent a repeat of the CoreStates problems, the new Wachovia phased the conversion of legacy Wachovia National Bank computer systems into
4800-422: The office buildings lining West Market Street. First Pennsylvania Bank's Centre Square twin office towers, with their iconic Clothespin sculpture by Claes Oldenburg , shifted the center of that district west at its opening in 1976. In 1973, the bank opened a second Center City office complex on Independence Mall at Fifth and Market Streets that became headquarters for its operations divisions. In keeping with
4880-607: The old bank in 1929, and shortly thereafter renamed itself the Pennsylvania Company for Banking and Trust. It was led in the twentieth century by an increasingly ambitious and risk-taking board of directors. Another merger with First National Bank in 1955 brought another name change, prepending "First," and the First National branch at 315 Chestnut Street was maintained until the Wells Fargo period. Serendipitously, 315 Chestnut
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#17330855937664960-506: The other hand, if Monsanto and Bayer , the 1st and 3rd largest biotech and seed firms, together with Dow and DuPont being the 4th and 5th largest biotechnology and seed companies in the world respectively, both went through with the mergers, the so-called "Big Six" (including Syngenta and BASF ) in the industry would control 63 percent of the global seed market and 76 percent of the global agriculture chemical market. They would also control 95 percent of corn, soybeans, and cotton traits in
5040-429: The phaseout and replacement of chlorofluorocarbons ". DuPont scientist George Levitt was honored with the medal in 1993 for the development of sulfonylurea herbicides . In 1996, DuPont scientist Stephanie Kwolek was recognized for the discovery and development of Kevlar . In the 1980s, Dr. Jacob Lahijani, Senior Chemist at DuPont, invented Kevlar 149 and was highlighted in the "Innovation: Agent of Change. Kevlar 149
5120-471: The specialty products divisions. Prior to the spinoffs it was the world's largest chemical company in terms of sales. The merger has been reported to be worth an estimated $ 130 billion. The present DuPont, as prior to the merger, is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware , in the state where it is incorporated . DuPont was founded in 1802 by Éleuthère Irénée du Pont , using capital raised in France and gunpowder machinery imported from France. He started
5200-432: The suitor shocked analysts as many speculated that Wachovia would be sold to Atlanta-based SunTrust . As an important part of the deal, while First Union was the nominal survivor, the merged company would assume the Wachovia name and stock ticker symbol (though it retained First Union's pre-2001 stock price history). Analysts said this move was most likely to help First Union acquire a new identity, as Wachovia's reputation
5280-409: The surviving partners sold the company to three great-grandsons of the original founder. Charles Lee Reese was appointed as director and the company began centralizing their research departments. The company subsequently purchased several smaller chemical companies; in 1912 these actions generated government scrutiny under the Sherman Antitrust Act . The courts declared that the company's dominance of
5360-487: The two largest U.S. chemical companies closed on August 31, 2017. Both companies' boards of directors decided that following the merger DowDuPont would pursue a separation into three independent, publicly traded companies: an agriculture, a materials science, and a specialty products company. Advisory Committees were established for each of the businesses. DuPont CEO Ed Breen would lead the Agriculture and Specialty Products Committees, and Dow CEO Andrew Liveris would lead
5440-424: The war, DuPont continued its emphasis on new materials, developing Mylar , Dacron , Orlon , and Lycra in the 1950s, and Tyvek , Nomex , Qiana , Corfam , and Corian in the 1960s. DuPont has been the key company behind the development of modern body armor . In the Second World War , DuPont's ballistic nylon was used by Britain 's Royal Air Force to make flak jackets . With the development of Kevlar in
5520-408: The world. Major manufacturing sites included the Spruance plant near Richmond, Virginia , (currently the company's largest plant), the Washington Works site in Washington, West Virginia , the Mobile Manufacturing Center (MMC) in Axis, Alabama , the Bayport plant near Houston , Texas, the Mechelen site in Belgium , and the Changshu site in China. Other locations included the Yerkes Plant on
5600-639: Was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S . First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, investment banking (First Union Securities), investment advisory, home equity lending, asset-based lending, leasing, insurance, international and securities brokerage services and private equity through First Union Capital Partners , and through other subsidiaries. In September 2001, First Union completed their acquisition of Wachovia National Bank to become Wachovia Corporation , which used to be one of
5680-449: Was acquired by Wells Fargo , headquartered in San Francisco, California . The company's original headquarters building is located at the corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets in Center City Philadelphia and is now known as One South Broad . It has long been known for the oversized bell on its uppermost floor that once tolled noon over the city's financial district, once centered at the foot of its building but now moved farther west among
5760-453: Was announced that Jeff Fettig would become executive chairman of DowDuPont on July 1, 2018, and Jim Fitterling would become CEO of Dow Chemical on April 1, 2018. In October 2018, the company's agricultural unit recorded a $ 4.6 billion loss in the third quarter after lowering its long-term sales and profits targets. In 2019, DuPont completed its spin off from DowDuPont and the company adapted its marketing and branding in order to establish
5840-535: Was chartered in 1781 by the Continental Congress as America's first bank. It went through a number of charter changes and minor upheavals until merging with the Commercial Trust Company to form 1923's Bank of North America and Trust Company. That didn't survive long; by the 1870s, Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities had transitioned to banking in the 1870s, and it bought
5920-565: Was far better with consumers than First Union. At the same time, Wachovia's name and corporate identity would survive. The deal met with skepticism and criticism. Analysts, remembering the problems with the CoreStates acquisition, were concerned First Union's ability to merge with another large company. Winston-Salem's citizens and politicians suffered a blow to their civic pride because the merged company would be based in Charlotte, home to First Union. City leaders were concerned both by job losses and
6000-529: Was invited to be on GM's board of directors and would eventually be appointed the company's chairman. The DuPont company would assist the struggling automobile company further with a $ 25 million purchase of GM stock ($ 752,960,526 in 2023 dollars ). In 1920, Pierre S. du Pont was elected president of General Motors. Under du Pont's leadership, GM became the number one automobile company in the world. However, in 1957, because of DuPont's influence within GM, further action under
6080-473: Was neither the oldest nor the most aggressive of the big banks headquartered in the nation's birthplace for most of the city's history. That distinction went to the First Pennsylvania Bank , the "Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities." While founded as an insurance company in 1809 (chartered 1812), it traces back to an even earlier banking dynasty. The Bank of North America
6160-699: Was planning to spin off its Performance Chemicals business into a new publicly traded company in mid-2015. The company filed its initial Form 10 with the SEC in December 2014 and announced that the new company would be called The Chemours Company . The spin-off to DuPont shareholders was completed on July 1, 2015, and Chemours stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on the same date. DuPont then focused on production of GMO seeds, materials for solar panels , and alternatives to fossil fuels. Responsibility for
6240-489: Was the bank's first president. Later, the bank became known as Philadelphia National Bank, or PNB. During the early years of the United States, Philadelphia developed as the banking center of the country. The First Bank of the United States chartered in 1791, was based in the city until its charter expired in 1811, at which point its building was purchased by the preeminent American banker Stephen Girard to house his banking operation, known as The Bank of Stephen Girard. (This
6320-409: Was the largest producer of titanium dioxide in the world, primarily provided as a white pigment used in the paper industry . On January 9, 2011, DuPont announced that it had reached an agreement to buy Danish company Danisco for US$ 6.3 billion. On May 16, 2011, DuPont announced that its tender offer for Danisco had been successful and that it would proceed to redeem the remaining shares and delist
6400-414: Was then acquired by First Union Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina , in 1998. The CoreStates-First Union merger, at $ 17 billion, was then the largest bank merger that had ever taken place in the United States. First Union later bought Wachovia National Bank in 2001 and the combined company took the Wachovia brand name. Wachovia Bank , suffering losses during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 ,
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