Seabury Stanton
Seabury Stanton | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1892 |
| Died | October 19, 1971 (aged 79) |
| Education | Harvard University (1915) |
| Occupation | Manager of Berkshire Hathaway |
Seabury Stanton (October 9, 1892 – October 19, 1971) was an American businessman from New Bedford, Massachusetts who ran Berkshire Hathaway prior to its takeover by Warren Buffett in 1964.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Seabury Stanton was born on October 9, 1892, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His father and grandfather had been Yankee whaling captains in New Bedford. He attended the local schools, the New Bedford Textile School, and Harvard University, where he graduated in the class of 1915.[1]
Career
[edit]In 1916, Stanton began work in textile manufacturing as the treasurer for the Hathaway Manufacturing Company.
The textile industry in New England declined after World War I and did not recover until after the Great Depression with the outbreak of World War II.
In 1955, Hathaway became Berkshire Hathaway after merging with Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, becoming the largest surviving textile manufacturer in New England with 15 mills.
In the late 1950s, the industry was again in decline, facing low-cost competition from elsewhere in the United States and abroad. Stanton managed the company as president and his son Jack served as treasurer. Jack Stanton was expected to take over as president. Seabury's brother, Otis Stanton, managed sales at the company and often conflicted with his brother, eventually selling his shares to Warren Buffett after a meeting at the Wamsutta Club.
In 1962, Warren Buffett began buying shares of Berkshire because he thought the company was selling at a discount to its actual value after noticing a pattern in the price direction of its stock whenever the company closed a mill. Eventually Buffett acknowledged that the textile business was waning and the company's financial situation was not going to improve. In 1964, Stanton made a verbal tender offer of $111⁄2 per share for the company to buy back Buffett's shares. Buffett agreed to the deal. In May 1964, Buffett received the tender offer in writing, but the tender offer was for only $113⁄8. Buffett later admitted that this lower (undercutting offer) made him angry.[2] Instead of selling at the slightly lower price, Buffett bought more of the stock to take control of the company and fire Stanton.
In 1965, Stanton and his son Jack resigned.[3]
Personal life
[edit]In December 1916, Stanton married Jean Kellogg Austin.
Stanton was Chairman of the Northern Textile Association from 1959 through 1962. He also served as a Director of the association from 1944 through 1950, again from 1951 through 1959, and from 1962 through 1965.
In 1962, Stanton published a book on Berkshire, titled Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. A saga of courage.
Stanton died on October 19, 1971.
Bibliography
[edit]- Stanton, Seabury (1962). Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. A saga of courage. New York: Newcomen Society in North America. ASIN B0007DUK50.
References
[edit]- ^ https://archive.org/stream/harvardclassof1915harvuoft/harvardclassof1915harvuoft_djvu.txt (accessed 12/10/24)
- ^ Crippen, Alex (October 18, 2010). "Warren Buffett: Buying Berkshire Hathaway Was $200 Billion Blunder". CNBC.
- ^ Hudson, Kris; Das, Anupreeta (December 1, 2013). "Mayor Tries to Save Warren Buffett's Old Berkshire Hathaway Headquarters". The Wall Street Journal.