| Company type | Subsidiary of Unilever |
|---|---|
| Industry | Import & Export Trading, Shipping, Palm Oil plantations |
| Predecessor | Royal Niger Company  |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Successor | Unilever |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Area served | West & Central Africa |
Key people | Sir Arthur Edward Dyson, Sir Robert Whaley Cohen, Lord Trenchard, Frank Samuel & Sir Arthur Smith |
| Parent | Unilever |
The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century.
The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of The Niger Company,[1] which had been effectively owned by Lever Brothers since 1920, and the African & Eastern Trade Corporation.[2] In the early 1930s the United Africa Company was nearly reduced to bankruptcy and as a result it came under the control of Unilever which had just been formed. Unilever had only been created from the merger of Lever Brothers and the Dutch Margarine Union earlier on 3 March 1929. The United Africa Company continued as subsidiary of Unilever until 1987 when it was absorbed by the parent company.
- ^ Baker 1996[page needed]
- ^ Fage, Roberts & Oliver 1986, p. 116.