Universal Corporation

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is one of the world's leading tobacco merchants. Incorporated in 1886, Universal is headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States.

This article is about the tobacco merchant. For the movie production company, see Universal Pictures.

Universal Corporation
NYSE: UVV
S&P 600 Component
Founded1886 Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersRichmond, Virginia[1]
Websitewww.universalcorp.com Edit this on Wikidata

Current operations

Universal buys, sells, and processes flue-cured and burley tobacco. 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 Group (owner of Philip Morris USA).

Universal common stock is part of the S&P 600 index.

History

After the 1911 breakup of the American Tobacco Company trust, Jacquelin P. Taylor incorporated Universal out of six formerly independent leaf merchants.[2]

On January 3, 2020, Universal purchased FruitSmart.[3]

Bribery

In 2010, Universal along with its competitor Pyxus (then Alliance One) were accused of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company is alleged to have paid through its subsidiaries $850,000, $165,000 and $800,000 to officials in Malawi, Mozambique and Thailand, respectively. The company paid about $9 million in penalties and disgorged profits to settle the charges.[4]

References
  1. "Universal". Fortune. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  2. Griggs, Cara (2021). "Universal Leaf Tobacco Company Of China, Federal, Inc., U.S.A." The UnCommonwealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  3. "Universal Completes Acquisition of FruitSmart". Fidelity Investments. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  4. "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Enforcement Action Dataset". fcpa.stanford.edu. Retrieved April 27, 2023.



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