Henley
The Henley Group is a holding company whose operating subsidiaries can--and in most cases will--each operate as an independent company. Many of its executives are managers of Henley's predecessor companies. Their goal is to acquire and develop low-risk, underperforming properties, and, after some time, to divest or trade these subsidiaries at a profit, paying out generous dividends in the process.
The Henley Group was created in 1986, when 35 diverse but unprofitable businesses were spun off by Allied-Signal. Under the leadership of Michael D. Dingman, chairman and chief executive officer, Henley raised $1.2 billion, in a record initial public offering.
The formation of Henley began in November 1985, when the board of directors of Allied-Signal approved reorganization plans. The recently merged Allied Corporation--a chemical giant--and The Signal Companies--an aerospace and engineering company--decided to concentrate on two industries: aerospace and electronics. That left 35 unrelated businesses. Because selling them individually would take years and tie up his managers, Allied-Signal chairman and CEO Edward L. Hennessy Jr. chose to unload them all in one major effort. He bundled them into Henley and gave Allied-Signal stockholders one share of the new company for every four of their Allied-Signal shares.
Henley's original offices were located in New York City because its people were working closely with Allied-Signal, located in New Jersey, immediately following the spin-off. Henley moved to La Jolla, California in 1987 because many of its executives, including Dingman, had been working there since their days with Signal, which was headquartered there. In 1988 Henley opened an office in Hampton, New Hampshire, and Dingman relocated to the East Coast. The company operated dual offices for several years, and in 1990 Henley phased out the La Jolla office, making Hampton its world headquarters.
Former Allied-Signal President Dingman, a rowing enthusiast, named Henley after the English town famous for its regattas. A self-described turnaround man, Dingman said of Henley, "When I saw it, I was intrigued by somebody's lack of insight. . . The success I've had in my business career has been taking other people's junk and making it worth more," according to Business Week, June 2, 1980. Dingman had built Wheelabrator-Fry into a $1.5 billion environmental and energy company. He sold Wheelabrator-Frye to The Signal Companies in a 1983 stock swap and, as president of Signal, engineered that company's move into high technology by selling off its low-tech companies.
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