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landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
beginnings
1847 Werner Siemens and Johann Halske form Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt
Von Siemens & Halske, foundation of Siemens group
1879 Mix & Genest founded
1883 Deutsche Edison Gesellschaft (DEG) founded by Emil
Rathenau, licences Edison's electrical patents
1885 launches gramophone and record operations
1887 DEG becomes Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft
(AEG)
1889 Gerard Philips becomes AEG representative in The
Netherlands
1891 founds Koninklijke Philips (Philips) as light globe
manufacturer
1893 AEG forms Elektrochemische Werke
1894 Columbia Graphophone (later Columbia Gramophone)
founded in US
1895 Deutsche Edison Phonographen Gesellschaft founded
in Berlin
1895 AEG forms Bank für Elektrische Unternehmungen
in Switzerland
1896 Siemens forms Schweizerische Gesellschaft für
Elektrische Industrie in Switzerland
1897 Siemens electrical and engineering interests consolidated
as Siemens & Halske AG
1898 AEG's Chemische Fabrik Elektron merges with Chemische
Fabrik Griesheim to form Griesheim Elektron
1898 AEG forms Aluminium Industrie Neuhausen
1898 Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (DG) founded by
Emile Berliner as offshoot of New York-based Berliner
Gramophone Company (later The Gramophone Company)
1899 AEG and Siemens form Accumulatoren-Fabrik AG (AFA)
1901 Victor Talking Machine Co founded
1903 Siemens and AEG found Telefunken
1903 Siemens takes over Schuckert & Co
1904 AEG absorbs Union Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft,
makes patent-sharing agreement with GE
1910 AEG becomes aircraft manufacturer
1910 buys Lahmeyer dynamo works
1912 Siemens buys S Bergmann electrical group
1914 Barnett Samuel & Sons Ltd launches Decca Dulcephone
gramophone
1915 AEG sells Berlin generating operations (BEW) to city
1917
DG expropriated from The Gramophone Company, comes under
control of Polyphon Musikwerke
1919 Siemens, AEG and Auer form Osram joint venture
1920 Siemens and Stinnes form Siemens-Rheinelbe-Schuckert-Union
(SRSU) joint venture
1922 assassination of Walther Rathenau
1923 AEG renews strategic alliance with GE
1923 Siemens-Schuckertwerke and Japan's Furukawa group
form Fuji Denki Seizo KK joint venture
1924 Siemens renews alliance with Westinghouse, abandons
SRSU
1924 Music Corporation of America (MCA) talent agency
founded
1924
Philips buys radio manufacturer Nederlandsche Seintoestellen
Fabriek, establishes recording studio
1925 Griesheim becomes part of IG Farben
1927 GE takes 20% stake in Philips
1927 AEG and Siemens form Vereinigte Eisenbah-Signal Werke
(VES)
1929 Decca records founded in UK
1929 licenses H.W. van Zoelen as distributor in the Netherlands
1929 GE buys 16.66% of Osram for US$8.8m
1929 increases stake in AEG to 25%
1929 AEG and Siemens form Klangfilm joint venture to compete
with AT&T's Western
Electric film interests
1929 Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
merges with Victor Talking Machine Company
1931 van Zoelen forms Hollandsche Decca Distributie (HDD)
as exclusive Decca distributor for Netherlands and Dutch
colonies, later expands into recording and manufacture
1933
Philips establishes record manufacturing
1935 DG becomes German licensee for Decca
1935 Fuji Denki establishes Fuji Telecommunications (later
Fujitsu)
1935 AEG absorbs Borsig locomotive operations
1940 Flugmotorenwerks der Siemens & Halske A spun
off to Luftfahrtgerätewerk Hakenfelde
1941 AEG stakes in DG, Klangfilm, Bergmann and VES acquired
by Siemens
1941 Siemens sells Telefunken stake to AEG, AEG gains
control of Telefunken-Schallplatte record company
1942 Philips buys HDD for 300,000 guilders
1945 Siemens stake in Fuji Electric and Fuji Telecommunications
confiscated
1945 Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge found
Mercury Records
1948 Columbia introduces LP record
1950 Philips consolidates recording interests as Philips
Phonografische Industrie (PPI)
1951 Columbia ends international distribution agreement
with EMI
1951 Columbia licenses PPI as distributor outside the
US, PPI licenses Columbia as its distributor within US
1952 Philips buys back GE's 20% stake
1952 Philips develops prototype computer
1952 Heinz Nixdorf founds Nixdorf Computer
1952 Universal International
film group acquired by Decca Records
1959 Fuji Telecommunications becomes Fujitsu
1960 PPI buys Mercury records
1961 Columbia ends PPI alliance, establishes own European
network
1961
PPI buys Melodica records of Italy
1962 Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss form A&M Records
1962 Decca sells Universal to MCA
GPG
1962 Philips and Siemens form Gramophon-Philips Group
(GPG) joint venture - Philips takes 50% stake in DG, Siemens
takes 50% stake in PPI
1963 Philips introduces compact cassette
1967 GPG buys RSO (UK)
1967
Siemens transfers appliance operations to joint venture
with Bosch
1968
GPG buys Chappell Music Publishing
1969 AEG merges with Telefunken as AEG-Telefunken
1969
Siemens and AEG-Telefunken form Kraftwek Union
1970
Robert Stigwood floats Robert Stigwood Organisation (RSO)
Polygram founded
1972 GPG replaced by Polygram, combining Philips and Siemens
interests
1972 Polygram buys MGM Records and Verve from MGM
1972
Philips transfers Mercury to Polygram
1972 Siemens sells Siemens-BauUnion to Dyckerhoff &
Widmann
1972 sells Siemens-Planiawerke
1973 buys United Distribution Corporation (UDC)
1976 becomes international distributor for MCA and Twentieth
Century Records
1976
buys RSO for US$8m
1976
establishes Polygram Video
1976 Siemens buys AEG stake in Osram
1977 Polygram buys 50% of Casablanca Film & Record
Works (US)
1977
Siemens buys AEG stake in Kraftwerk Union
1978 buys GE stake in Osram
1978
Polygram takes stake in France's Barclay records
1978
Philips launches laser video disk
1979 Polygram acquires Decca
1979
buys London Records
1979
AEG-Telefunken declares bankruptcy, rescued by banks
1980
Polygram buys rest of Casablanca
1981 compact disk launched
1982 AEG acquired by Daimler-Benz
1983 US Federal Trade Commission and German cartel office
forbid merger of Polygram and Warner
Music
1983 Philips acquires 40% of Polygram from Siemens
1985 MCA buys Chess records
1987 Philips buys Siemens' remaining 10% in Polygram
1987
Polygram Pictures closed
1987
Polygram buys 49% of Go!Discs
1987
Chappell Music sold to Warner for
US$275m
1989 Philips floats 16% of PolyGram on Amsterdam bourse
(valuing Polygram at US$5.6bn)
1989 PolyGram buys A&M Records from Alpert & Moss
for US$500m
1989
buys Dick vs James music publishing
1989
buys Cedarwood music publishing
1989
buys Welk music publishing
1989
buys Sweden Music publishing
1989 buys Island Records for £272m
1989
takes stake in Working Title Films
1990 Sony rival Matsushita buys
MCA for US$6.1bn
1990 MCA buys Geffen records
1990 Nixdorf acquired by Siemens
1991
Polygram buys Sonet and Polar
1991
takes 30% stake in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Really Useful
group
1992
MCA buys Uptown Records for US$50m
1992
Polygram buys Kitty Music publishing
1992
takes 51% stake in Interscope Communications
1992
forms Gramercy Pictures joint venture with Universal
1992
buys 50% of Teddy Polly Films, Hong Kong
1993 MCA buys Motown records
1993
Philips floats further 9% of Polygram
1993
Polygram buys out Matsushita from Nippon Phonogram and
Polydor Japan joint ventures
1993
buys remaining shares in Working Title Films
1994 MCA buys Def Jam
1994 Seagram buys 14.5% stake in Time
Warner
1995 MCA buys Rodven (Venezuela)
1995 Seagram sells Du Pont stake, buys MCA from Matsushita
for US$5.7bn and renames it Universal Studios
1995
Polygram buys remaining Interscope shares
1995 buys Vision Video, Abbey Home Entertainment and ITC
Entertainment Group
1996
buys Universal's stake in Gramercy Pictures
1996
forms Sundance Channel with Robert Redford and Showtime
1998 CGE group renamed Vivendi
1998 Daimler-Benz takes over Chrysler as DaimlerChrysler
acquired by Seagram
1998 Philips sells PolyGram to Seagram
for US$10.4bn. Seagram consolidates its recording interests
in Universal Music Group
1999 Siemens spins off Nixdorf
Vivendi and beyond
2000
Vivendi acquires Seagram for
US$34bn, becomes Vivendi Universal
2004
Siemens buys BBC Technology
2006 Philips buys Lifeline Systems for US$690m
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