Pye Ltd.

Please note this is [u]not[/u] the UK company, but a New Zealand subsidiary. Pye Limited's NZ licensee, Pye Ltd., was set up in 1951 as Pye (NZ) Limited, by George Wooller, the owner of G.A. Wooller & Co. Ltd. It absorbed the local Akrad Ltd. Wooller was managing director and the shareholding was split between Wooller, other NZ shareholders and the UK company of the same name. In 1954 it purchased G.A. Wooller & Co. Ltd. In 1961 G.A. Wooller & Co. Ltd. purchased Allied International Records Ltd. from its owners and that became the record division until the 1970s. In 1966 the Dutch Philips purchased 60% of the UK company and thus acquired control of the NZ shares and the NZ company. It would remain independent until 1976 when Philips purchased the UK company's remaining shares. Over three decades, it released a variety of licensed and local material, both directly and on a variety of subsidiary and sister labels, including Family and Allied International, RCA, via Radio Corporation of New Zealand, and AIR (2). It also owned the Tanza catalogue after the RCNZ purchase. From 1967 MCA Records was also distributed in NZ. Wooller retired in 1970 and died in 1976 when his share was acquired by the UK company. GA Wooller & Co Ltd was then renamed Pye Security Systems Ltd). The company ceased trading in the record business in 1976 and was merged into the NZ Philips group. PolyGram in NZ took over the Pye/Allied catalogue and Universal is the current owner.