Independence Lost, Regained
The sale was completed in August of that year. Brought into the Cincinnati-based
P&G as a wholly owned subsidiary,
The Clorox Company dropped the word "Chemical"
from its name. But within three months, the Federal
Trade Commission had challenged the acquisition. A monopoly
in the production and sale of household liquid bleaches might
result, the agency charged.
Ten years of litigation ended with a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that Procter & Gamble must shed The Clorox
Company. On January 2, 1969, the company gained full, formal autonomy
as a publicly held corporation with its shares traded on the New
York Stock Exchange.
With independence came a new commitment to vigorous growth and diversification.
The challenge was to build a more broadly based business in its
areas of expertise, largely by acquisitions at first and then,
increasingly, developing the company's own products.
Growth Through Diversification
In April 1969, Clorox pooled all its available cash and credit to buy Liquid-Plumr
drain opener. In September 1969 the company introduced its first
internally developed new product, Clorox 2, a dry non-chlorine
bleach.
A string of acquisitions followed, as did a growing stream of
new products from the company's new Technical Center, which opened
in 1973.
Clorox now markets many of the best-known retail brands in America.
(For more information about Clorox products, visit the Products
sections.) The great majority of its brands are either the market
leader or are a strong second.
The company also operates a professional products
unit, which is focused on expanding many of its successful
retail franchises in cleaning and food products into new channels
of distribution.
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