🇺🇸 Ten American Brands No Longer Owned by American Companies
What We’re Showing
A chart listing ten iconic American brands, when they were first sold to foreign companies, and who owns them now, per data from 24/7 Wall St.
Beloved American Jeweler to LVMH’s Crown Jewel
Tiffany and Co.’s 183-year American story came to an end in 2019 after French luxury giant LVMH announced plans to acquire the company. The sale did not progress smoothly and after more than a year of back-and-forth, LVMH completed its acquisition, in 2021 for a slightly-reduced $16 billion price tag.
In the years since, Tiffany’s earnings have doubled, LVMH’s stock price has risen 50%, and Bernard Arnault—LVMH Chairman and CEO—became the world's richest man.
Dataset
Company | First Sold to Foreign Buyer | Current Owner |
---|---|---|
Trader Joe's | 1979 | 🇩🇪 Aldi Nord |
Burger King | 1989 | 🇬🇧 Grand Metropolitan |
7-Eleven | 1991 | 🇯🇵 Seven & I Holdings |
Lucky Strike | 1994 | 🇬🇧 British American Tobacoo |
Chrysler | 1998 | 🇳🇱 Stellantis N.V. |
Ben and Jerry's | 2000 | 🇬🇧 Unilever* |
IBM (PC Business) | 2005 | 🇨🇳 Lenovo |
Budweiser | 2008 | 🇧🇪 Anheuser-Busch InBev |
Popeyes | 2017 | 🇨🇦 Restaurant Brands International |
Tiffany & Co. | 2019** | 🇫🇷 LVMH |
Data sources
*Unilever has announced it’s spinning off its ice cream businesses. **Deal finalized in 2021. All information current as of May 2024.