In 1981, DuPont acquired Conoco Inc.,
a major American oil and gas producing company that gave it a secure
source of petroleum feedstocks needed for the manufacturing of many of
its fiber and plastics products. The acquisition, which made DuPont one
of the top ten U.S.-based petroleum and natural gas producers and
refiners, came about after a bidding war with the giant distillery Seagram Company Ltd.,
which would become DuPont's largest single shareholder with four seats
on the board of directors. On April 6, 1995, after being approached by
Seagram Chief Executive Officer Edgar Bronfman Jr., DuPont announced a deal in which the company would buy back all the shares owned by Seagram.[14]
In 1999, DuPont sold all of its shares of Conoco, which merged with Phillips Petroleum Company, and acquired the Pioneer Hi-Bred agricultural seed company.
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