Universal Corporation
Encyclopedia
Universal Corporation is one of the world's leading tobacco merchants. Incorporated in 1918, Universal has headquarters in Richmond, Virginia
, in the United States
.
(owner of Philip Morris USA
).
Universal common stock
is part of the S&P 400 MidCap
index
.
trust, Jacquelin (sic) P. Taylor incorporated Universal out of six formerly independent leaf merchants.
In 2010, Universal along with Alliance One International were accused of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. The company is alleged to have paid US$10,000 to the wife of an official in the Mozambique Ministry of Agriculture to secure favorable tax treatment in that country. In 2010, Universal paid about $10 million in restitution and penalties to settle the charges.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Current operations
Universal buys and sells flue-cured and burley tobacco, tea, sunflower seeds, and other agricultural products. It also holds a 49% interest in Socotab, LLC, a large dealer in oriental leaf tobaccos. The company does not manufacture cigarettes or other consumer tobacco products, although its largest customer is Altria GroupAltria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
(owner of Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
).
Universal common stock
Common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...
is part of the S&P 400 MidCap
S&P 400
The S&P 400 MidCap Index, more commonly known as the S&P 400, is a stock market index from Standard & Poor's.It covers roughly the mid-cap range of US stocks.-Investing:The following ETFs attempt to track this index and sub-indexes:*Index Fund: &...
index
Stock market index
A stock market index is a method of measuring a section of the stock market. Many indices are cited by news or financial services firms and are used as benchmarks, to measure the performance of portfolios such as mutual funds....
.
Early history
After the 1911 breakup of the American Tobacco CompanyAmerican Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company...
trust, Jacquelin (sic) P. Taylor incorporated Universal out of six formerly independent leaf merchants.
In 2010, Universal along with Alliance One International were accused of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. The company is alleged to have paid US$10,000 to the wife of an official in the Mozambique Ministry of Agriculture to secure favorable tax treatment in that country. In 2010, Universal paid about $10 million in restitution and penalties to settle the charges.