--- description: Arm, Hammer and Hammer title: Acquisitions: Arm, Hammer and Hammer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) # Acquisitions: Arm, Hammer and Hammer by [TIME](/author/time/) Oct 6, 1986 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Oct 6, 1986 4:00 AM CUT Many Americans mistakenly believe that the Arm & Hammer line of baking soda, detergents and deodorizers is owned by Industrialist Armand Hammer, 88\. Irked by the common confusion, the high-profile chairman of Occidental Petroleum reportedly tried a few years ago to buy the label from its owner, Church & Dwight of Princeton, N.J. But now Hammer is at least a minority Arm & Hammer proprietor, after Occidental gained a slice of ownership in Church & Dwight by a new joint venture. Under the scheme, Church & Dwight received a 50% share in a potassium-carbonate plant owned by Occidental in Muscle Shoals, Ala. In exchange, Hammer’s company acquired 5% of Church & Dwight’s common stock, worth about $13.3 million, plus $5.3 million in cash and a seat on the Princeton company’s board. Acquisitions: Arm, Hammer and Hammer ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6707287/acquisitions-arm-hammer-and-hammer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6707287/acquisitions-arm-hammer-and-hammer/"},"headline":"Acquisitions: Arm, Hammer and Hammer","datePublished":"1986-10-06T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-27T19:21:43.564Z","description":"Arm, Hammer and Hammer","url":"https://time.com/archive/6707287/acquisitions-arm-hammer-and-hammer/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6707287/acquisitions-arm-hammer-and-hammer/","name":"Acquisitions: Arm, Hammer and Hammer"}}]}] ```