A Celebration of Black History

Reginald F. Lewis (1942-1993) – Prominent Business Leader & Venture Capitalist

Reginald F. Lewis is known as the first African American to enter the world of million dollar business takeovers. Two major business deals that defined his career is the purchase and takeover of McCall Pattern Company and the international food division of conglomerate Beatrice Foods.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis pursued a career in finance with an education from Virginia State University and Harvard Law School.  On July 29, 1983, he created TLC Pattern under the holding company TLC Group.  His first buyout occurred on January 29, 1984 acquiring McCall Pattern Company in which he doubled the company’s profits and engaged in other business maneuvers to rescued it from financial crisis. He sold the company for $95 million with a 90-to-1 gain that drew notice on Wall Street and in other business circles.

In 1987, Lewis acquired Beatrice International for $985 million becoming the first African American to head the largest black-owned business in the country and the only black-owned company with over $1 million in revenues. Beatrice International was composed of about 64 companies in over 31 countries. The parent company was Beatrice Foods the thirty-fifth largest industrial corporation in the US at the time. With this transaction, Lewis became the first African American to be included in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s 400 wealthiest people.

Source:

Smith, Jesse Carney. Black Facts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. 3rd ed. 94-95. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2013.

Reginald F. Lewis Biography. Biography.com. A & E Television Networks. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/reginald-f-lewis.