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Follett: mergers and acquisitions

1923: Charles W. Follett and Edythe Follett purchase full ownership upon the death of John Wilcox 1918: Charles W. Follett assumes leadership of of the company following the retirement of John Wilcox and renames the company to J. W. Wilcox & Follett Company 1952 Dwight Follett [2nd Generation] assumes leadership of Follett folowing the death of Charles W. Follett. Dwight is the oldest son of Charles W. and Edythe Follett born in 1904 1952 Dwight Follett assumes leadership of Follett folowing the death of Charles W. Follett. Dwight is the oldest son of Charles W. and Edythe Follett born in 1904. 1957: Follett Corporation established as a holding company for all family businesses 1979: R.J.R. (Bob) Follett [3rd Generation] becomes chair of Follett Corporation. R.J.R. was the son of Dwight Follett. 1977: P. Richard (Dick) Litzsinger (3rd Generation) named President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation when Dwight Follett retired as President. Married Dona Lucy Follett in 1954. 1979: P. Richard Litzsinger (3rd Generation) named President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation when Dwight Follett retired as President. Married Dona Lucy Follett in 1954. 1994: Richard M. (Dick) Traut elected Chair of Follett Corporation upon the retirement of Bob Follett. 1999: Kenneth J. (Ken) Hull becomes Chair of Follett Corporation 1997: Kenneth J. (Ken) Hull became the first non-family CEO of Follett Corporation 2000: Christopher Traut [4th Generation] becomes CEO of Follett Corporation Apr 2001: R. Mark Litzsinger elected Chair of Follett Corporation on the retirement of Kenneth Hull Apr 2011: Alison O'Hara was named Chairman of the Board of Follett Corporation. O'Hara died on July 20, 2013. Jan 2014: Todd Litzsinger [4th Generation] named chairman of the Board of Directors of Follett Corporation. June 2010: Chuck Follett [4th Generation] becomes CEO of Follett Corporation. Nov 2012: Mary Lee Schneider appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation May 2015: Ray A. Griffith appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation Jan 2018: Patrick E. Connolly appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation 1873: Charles M. Barnes starts a business selling used books from his home in Wheaton Illinois 1876: Charles M. Barnes relocates the business now named C.M. Barnes & Company to 23 LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago; The store sold stationary, textbooks, adn school supplies 1901: Charles W. Follett hired as a clerk for C.M. Barnes & Company 1902: William Barnes becomes President of upon the retirement of his father Charles M. Barnes 1908: John Wilcox, father-in-law to William Barnes acquired majority ownership of the company, which was then renamed to C. M. Barnes-Wilcox Company 1912: Charles W. Follett advanced role of Vice President and became a shareholder of the company 1918: Charles W. Follett assumed leadership of the company following the retirement of John Wilcox, which was then renamed as the J. W. Wilcox & Follett Company 1923: Charles W. Follett Charles W. Follett and his wife Edythe Follett purchased full ownership of the Wilcox & Follett Company 1925: Follett purchases publisher of foreign language dictionaries 1925: Dwight Follett establishes Folett Publishing Company, specializing in children's books textbooks for elementary schools 1930: Robert D. Follett establishes Follett College Book Company as a wholesale distributor of used textbooks to university professors and college bookstores 1931: Robert D. Follett started the first college bookstore owned and operated by the company 1940: Garth Follett establishes Follett Library Book Company as a wholesale distributor of books for elementary and secondary school libraries 1952: Charles 'Laddie' Follett ran the company's original business, Wilcox & Follett, from 1952 until 1986 1957: Wilcox & Follett Company renamed to Follett Corporation 1982: Follett Corporation sells Follett Publishing Company to Esquire Education Group for million 1985: Follett Software Company founded by Charles Follett Jr. 1989: Follett Corporation introduces Tom-Tracks to automate college bookstore textbook operations 1992: Follett Collegiate Graphics established and led by Mark Litzsinger 1994: Follett College Book Company became Follett Campus Resources 1994: Follett Library Book Company became Follett Library Resources Nov 1996: Follett Corporation acquires half interest in Library Systems & Services 1997: Follett acquires Book Wholesalers, Inc. (BWI) which distributes children's books to public libraries Apr 1998: Follett Corporation acquires Custom Academic Publishing Company 1998: Follett Corporation restructures forming three busines groups: Elementary/High School, Library, and Higher Education Jun 2006: Follett Corporation acquires Sagebrush Technologies, including Athena, Winnebago Spectrum, and InfoCentre library management systems Jun 2003: Follett Corporation sells its interest in Library Systems and Services Sep 2013 Follett sells BWI assets to Baker & Taylor Apr 2014 Follett Educational Services, Follett Library Resources and Follett Software Company combined to form Follett School Solutions Apr 2015 Follett Corporation acquires Nebraska Book Company's retail store division Apr 2016: Follett Corporation acquires Baker and Taylor from Castle Harlan Sep 2021: Francisco Partners acquires Follett School Solutions from Follett Corporation Nov 2021: Investor group led by CEO Aman Kochar acquires Baker & Taylor from Follett Corporation Feb 2022: Follett Higher Education acquired by investment group led by Jefferson River Capital