Ling-Temco-Vought
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Formerly called
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Ling-Temco-Vought |
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | LTV / LTVCQ (former) |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | James Ling |
| Defunct | December 29, 2000 (Final Bankruptcy Date) |
| Headquarters |
Cleveland, Ohio (HQ 1993 to dissolution) Dallas, Texas (Founded), United States of America |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Website | ltvsteel.com (2000 Archive, now defunct) |
Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large US conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2000. At its peak, its component parts were involved in the aerospace industry, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, the airline industry, meat packing, car rentals and pharmaceuticals, among other businesses.
It began in 1947 as Ling Electric Company, later named Ling-Temco-Vought, followed by LTV Corporation and eventually LTV Steel to its end in the early 2000s.
In 1947, entrepreneur James Ling founded Dallas electrical contracting business, Ling Electric Company. He lived in the rear of the shop. After incorporating and taking the company public in 1955, Ling found innovative ways to market the stock, including selling door-to-door and from a booth at the State Fair of Texas.
In 1956 Ling bought L.M. Electronics, and in 1959 added Altec Electronics, a maker of stereo systems and speakers. In 1960 Ling merged the company with Temco Aircraft, best known for its missile work. In 1961, using additional funding from insurance businessman Troy Post and Texas oil baron David Harold Byrd they acquired Chance Vought aerospace in a hostile takeover. The new company became Ling-Temco-Vought.
With low interest rates allowing the company to borrow huge sums, Ling built one of the major 1960s conglomerates. As long as the target company's earnings exceeded the interest on the loan (or corporate bond), or the company's price/earnings ratio was less than that of Ling-Temco-Vought's stock, the conglomerate became more profitable overall. Given the fairly unsophisticated stock research of the era, the company appeared to be growing without bound, and its share price rose.
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