Enron was founded in 1930, formerly known as Northern Natural Gas Company, and is a joint venture company of North American Electric Company, Lone Star Natural Gas Company and United Electric Railway Company. From 194 1 to 1947, with the listing of the company's shares, the company's equity gradually dispersed. By 1979, InterNorth Inc became the controlling shareholder of the company and listed on the new york Stock Exchange instead of Northern Gas Company. 1985, Intel acquired the competitor Houston Natural Gas Company and changed its name to "Enron". Originally, the company wanted to change its name to "intestinal tube", but because of its indecent meaning (intestine), it was quickly abbreviated again. The company initially engaged in the distribution of electricity and natural gas in the United States, and carried out infrastructure construction such as power plant construction and pipeline laying around the world. Azurix company was founded in 1998 and entered the water industry. It was partially listed on the NYSE in June of 1999. Azurix failed in Buenos Aires, the main place of business, resulting in huge losses. In April of 200 1 year, Enron announced the closure of Azurix and the sale of assets. By taking the lead in transforming power, telecommunications and other auxiliary businesses into financial products that can be bought and sold, even including unusual "climate derivatives", Enron claims that the company has maintained healthy growth. From 1996 to 200 1, Fortune magazine rated Enron as "the most innovative company in America" for six years in a row, and in 2000, Enron was rated as "the best employer in America" by the magazine, which was also regarded as a beautiful talk for Wall Street elites to safely decorate luxury offices. However, as disclosed later, many profits reflected in Enron's statements were inflated or even fabricated out of thin air. The company left the unprofitable part off the balance sheet through a series of dazzling financial related transactions.
With the bribery rumors and political pressure in Latin America, Africa and the Philippines, Enron's global image is increasingly damaged. Especially in a $3 billion contract with India's Maharashtra Power Company, Enron was accused of putting pressure on Indian government departments through George Bush and former President Bill Clinton. On June 9, 2002, the US Department of Justice announced a criminal investigation against Enron, and held a congressional hearing on June 24, 2002. 2001165438+1in the middle of October, Enron and its accounting firm "Andersen" faced the biggest bankruptcy abyss in the world after being involved in a series of accounting fraud scandals. A rescue plan for the "white knight" initiated by Dynegy, a smaller energy company, finally failed. In 200 1 year, Enron's share price dropped from 90 dollars to 30 cents. Since Enron shares have always been regarded as blue chips, this has caused an unprecedented devastating blow to the financial market.