In 1949, Ashland Inc. purchased the Freedom-Valvoline Company.[9] By 2016, Ashland's Valvoline subsidiary accounted for about 37% of the parent company's annual revenue.[2] Valvoline completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on September 22, 2016,[10] ahead of Ashland spinning off Valvoline as an independent company on May 5, 2017.[1]