Conoco holdings: 1981 to 1999 [ edit ]
In 1981, DuPont acquired Conoco Inc. , a major American oil and gas producing company that 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 US-based petroleum and natural gas producers and refiners, came about after a bidding war with the giant distillery Seagram Company Ltd. , which would become 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. [14]
In 1999, DuPont sold all of its shares of Conoco, which merged with Phillips Petroleum Company , and acquired the Pioneer Hi-Bred agricultural seed company.