The story
Founded by Alexander Elder in 1839.1
Early history (1839–1939)
With the fledgling colony of South Australia only three years old, Alexander Lang Elder arrived in Port Misery (now Port Adelaide) in January 1839 aboard the family-owned schooner Minerva as the only cabin passenger, under Captain David Reid. He went there to set up business and explore opportunities for his family's Scottish-based merchant and shipping business. Alexander's brothers, William, George, and Thomas joined Alexander. Out of the four of them, only Thomas stayed in Australia. Thomas moved to Adelaide in 1854 and worked with George for a year.
After George left, Thomas formed Elder, Stirling & Co with Edward Stirling, Robert Barr Smith, and John Taylor. On Stirling and Taylor's retirement in 1863, Barr Smith and Thomas Elder formed Elder Smith and Co.
In 1888, Elder Smith and Co. was amalgamated with its subsidiary Elder's Wool & Produce Co. Ltd, and Peter Waite became the chairman of directors of the new company, which was called Elder Smith & Co. Ltd. Elders profits more than doubled from 1918 to 1928, with Peter Waite as chairman until his death in 1922, followed by Tom Elder Barr Smith, son of Robert.
At some period during the 19th century, the company employed bounty hunters to prevent the theft of sheep by Aboriginal people; Elders paid the hunters for each pair of ears they handed in. Crimes like these were deliberately expunged from Elder's records by specifically hired staff in the late 20th century.
In 1929 Walter Bagot, of Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith designed the Elders Currie Street offices.
World War II and after (1939–1962)
The Elders centenary in 1939 coincided with the start of World War II when the highly competitive wool-selling business was put into government control. As the war continued, the wool auction system remained closed and the British government acquired the total Australian wool clip. In 1941, the British government paid Elders the equivalent of $3 billion today, and nearly $4 billion the following year. The return to the open auction system in 1946 saw the start of a dramatic five-year run for wool. National wool revenues increased by 29% and 64% respectively in the first two full years of peace.
In the early 1950s, Norman Giles moved from the Elders WA branch of the company to the Adelaide branch, and two years later became managing director. In 1962 Giles announced the merger of Elder Smith and Goldsbrough Mort with its new corporate headquarters located in Adelaide. In 1970, Giles expanded Elders into Gove Alumina and Robe River mining ventures and launched Elders Finance and Investment Co. Sir Norman Giles retired in 1975 after 54 years with Elders.
Structural changes and expansion beyond agriculture (1970–2009)
In 1976 Elders acquired Pitt Son & Badgery Ltd, a Sydney based former subsidiary of the Scottish-Marra group. In 1982 Elders merged with jam maker Henry Jones IXL to become Elders IXL. The following year, Elders launched a successful takeover bid for Carlton & United Breweries, which it renamed to Elders Brewing Group. In 1989, due to an economic downturn, Elders sold Henry Jones IXL to J.M. Smucker Company, was renamed Elders Pastoral, and became a division of its subsidiary Foster's. In 1993, after being renamed Elders Limited, Elders was floated from Foster's, after which it acquired the Australian Agricultural Company. Two years later, Futuris Corporation, a major shareholder in Elders, became the new owner of Elders Limited.
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In 1997, Elders launched Australian Wool Handlers as a joint venture, a wool handling and dumping company that quickly became responsible for more than 60% of the national clip. In 1999 Elders Finance was sold to New Zealand-based company Hanover Finance after Elders had sold this business to NZ based investors who took on $20 million of liabilities. In 2009, Futuris Corporation changed its name to Elders Limited, and changed from its conglomerate holding company structure to a single integrated company with an owner-operated focus around its principal business Elders.
In 2013 Elders returned to a pure play agribusiness by selling and divesting the last portions of its Forestry and Automotive divisions.
Return to pure play agribusiness (2013–present)
In May 2014, Mark Allison was appointed CEO.
Central to Allison's restructure of Elders was an Eight Point Plan, which outlined an aspirational target of returning Elders to sustainable earnings growth by FY17.
In 2016, Elders acquired 20% of Elders Insurance from QBE and 30% of StockCo.
In 2017, Elders divested its live export division, North Australian Cattle Company (NACC) and Indonesian Feedlot and Abattoir, re-allocating capital to a number of new acquisitions including horticultural inputs and services provider Ace Ohlsson and Kerr & Co Livestock. 2017 also saw Elders complete the buyback of preferential hybrid shares.
In December 2017 Elders paid its first dividend to shareholders in nine years and achieved a market capitalization of $850 million, referred to as "one of the biggest turnarounds in Australia's corporate history".
In May 2018, Elders acquired Titan Ag, a manufacturer and supplier of agricultural chemicals. Elders began its acquisition of direct competitor Australian Independent Rural Retailers (AIRR) in July 2019 after making a $187 million offer.
In November 2024, Elders announced it would acquire Delta Agribusiness for $475 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Elders Limited, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5