Victor Posner: Difference between revisions

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==Career==
Of [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian-Jewish]] descent, he was born in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], one of nine children of grocers Morris and Mary Posner. Though he left school at age 13, he claimed to have earned his first million dollars by the age of 21 by investing in real estate, although financial records do not confirm this. Taking advantage of the post-[[World War II]] demand for housing in America, in 1948, he developed land and built houses in the Baltimore area, and by 1952, was building more than 1,100 dwellings per year. In 1954, he moved to [[Miami Beach, Florida]], where he continued to invest in real estate and publicly traded companies. He became the head of numerous companies over his career, including Security Management Corporation (owner of rental property in Maryland and Florida), [[The Wendy's Company|DWG Corporation]], ([[Arby's]] and [[RC Cola|Royal Crown]]), NVF Company, [[{{Interlanguage link multi|Sharon Steel Corporation]]|fr|3=Sharon Steel Corporation|lt=Sharon Steel|vertical-align=sup}}, Pennsylvania Engineering Corporation, Salem Corporation, APL Corporation, Evans Products, Graniteville, and Southeastern Public Service Company.<ref name=NYT>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E1DB1E3CF931A25751C0A9649C8B63 Obituary], ''New York Times'', February 12, 2002</ref>
 
Posner's primary vehicle was the Deisel-Wemmer Co., a cigar manufacturer and importer based in Ohio, which was founded in 1884. By January 23, 1929, Deisel-Wemmer incorporated as Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corporation (DWG) when acquired by an investment group. DWG was a small outfit and just to keep up market share purchased other small cigar companies like Odin cigars in 1930 and the Bernard Schwartz Cigar Corporation in 1939. The Company on May 15, 1946, changed its name to a simple name, DWG Cigar Corporation. Another series of acquisitions started in 1948 with the Nathan Elson Company following with A. Sensenbrenner & Sons in 1955 and in 1956 Chicago Motor Club Cigar and Reading, Pennsylvania-based Yocum Brothers. With the weakening of the cigar market due to medical advisories, many smokers switch to cigarettes, which were then believe to be safer. DWG then streamlined cigar operations and began looking for other businesses that might suite DWG's wholesale and distribution strength. The [[New York Stock Exchange]] delisted DWG in 1965 after an attempt at purchasing Allegheny Pepsi bottling company failed. DWG, thus free from NYSE reporting requirements, sold their remaining cigar operations or closed them in 1966. Renamed as DWG Corporation, DWG used its cash from the cigar operation sale to purchase a 12% share of the National Propane Corporation. Security Management Company, headed by Victor Posner, a major investor in DWG saw potential with the company as it was bold to sell its main operation. Posner saw it as a good takeover vehicle and became the controlling interest of DWG.<ref name="FU">{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Triarc-Companies-Inc-Company-History.html|title=Triarc Companies, Inc. Company History |accessdate=2008-06-17 |work=Funding Universe }}</ref>
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===Sharon Steel===
He is perhaps best known for his hostile [[takeover]] of [[{{Interlanguage link multi|Sharon Steel Corporation]]|fr|3=Sharon Steel Corporation|lt=Sharon Steel|vertical-align=sup}} in 1969, one of the earliest such takeovers in the US. Sharon Steel had a [[Coke (fuel)|coke]] plant in [[Fairmont, West Virginia]], a steel plant in [[SharonFarrell, Pennsylvania]], and a coal mine in Rachel, Pennsylvania. His purchase was motivated by the company's low valuation, level cash flow, and low debt. It was intended to become a source of cash for additional investments to capitalize on the rising price of coal during the [[energy crisis]] of the early 1970s. His investment would be the forerunner of the leveraged buyout and [[junk bonds]] business of the 1980s. Meanwhile, the Fairmont coke plant was one of the worst polluters in the [[Monongahela Valley]] and Posner stopped investing in it. It closed in 1979.<ref>Mark Reutter, [http://www.makingsteel.com/PosnerRaidsFairmont.html "The Raider and the Coal Town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222084800/http://www.makingsteel.com/PosnerRaidsFairmont.html |date=2006-02-22 }}, ''Southern Exposure'', Summer 1991</ref>
 
===Decline===