All of us building HoldCos are followoing in the footsteps of Royal Little, the father of conglomerates.
Here is how he founded the first HoldCo...
In 1923 Royal Little founded a textile company in Boston, he named it, Special Yarns Corporation.
Little proceeded to strengthen his position in textiles during the 1920s through acquiring a competitor.
The firm suffered through the depression but became an important manufacturer of textile products such as parachutes during World War II.
As the war drew to a close, Little changed his companies name to Textron and listed it on the New York Stock Exchange.
Foreseeing decresed demand in textiles, he used his current business as a cash flowing base to acquire unrelated businesses and diversify his revenue streams.
He started small, acquiring a manufacturer of stuffing for the automobile industry and a cast iron component manufacturer.
During the 1960s and now nearing retirement, Little made two major acquisitions which would redefine his company. First buying the maker of E-Z GO Golf Carts and then Bell Helicopter.
As Royal Little retired, his company Textron has been led by a series of CEOs who have continued making important acquisitions:
Speidel, a watchband manufacturer.
Sheaffer Pen, a pen manufacturer.
Bostich, a staple and nail gun maker.
Jacobsen, producer of the world’s broadest lines of professional turf maintenance equipment and lawn care machinery.
AVCO Corporation, a defense and aerospace company which was instrumental in the Apollo missions.
Greenle, a premier manufacturer of professional contractor tools.
Cessna Aircraft Co, a leader in light and medium-sized commercial business jets.
Beechcraft, a civil aviation and military aircraft manufacturer.
Textron is the epitome of a Horizontal Holdco. Building through the acquisition of often times unrelated businesses while allowing certain industries to grow in importance.
Today the company Royal Little founded with $10,000 in borrowed money has 34,000 employees, over $13 billion in revenue, with just under $1 billion in profits.