Marconi plc
Marconi is a radio, telecommunication and internet equipment manufacturing company, founded by Guglielmo Marconi.
History
- 1897 — Guglielmo Marconi founded the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company
- 1900 — Renamed to Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company
- 1946 — Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company taken over by the English Electric
- 1968 — English Electric merges with the General Electric Company (GEC, not to be confused with GE)
- 1999 — GEC acquires RELTEC Corporation.
- 1999 — GEC acquires FORE Systems, a major network equipment manufacturer.
- 1999 — After a period of restructuring, during which the Marconi defence business is sold to British Aerospace, GEC renames itself Marconi Plc.
- May 2002 — The company announces a loss of £5.7bn, the biggest in British corporate history. Under Chief Executive George Simpson (Lord Simpson) and Finance Director John Mayo, in a strategy rendered disastrous by the severe downturn in the global market for telecoms equipment, the company had made a series of acquisitions and shed "incompatible" parts of the business. Simpson and Mayo left the company in disgrace in late 2001.
Notes
There are many companies that have Marconi in their name. This is mainly due to various diversification and consolidation over the history of the group. For example, several defense industry partnerships bearing the name "Marconi" are no longer associated with Marconi PLC following GEC's sale of its defense interests and merging of its communications groups to form Marconi Communications before the group's evolution to Marconi PLC.
See also: Marconi Electronic Systems
