Sotheby's was established on 11 March 1744 in London and is named after one of its cofounders, John Sotheby. It is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation after Uppsala Auktionskammare, which was established in 1731. The American holding company was initially incorporated in August 1983 in Michigan. In June 2006, Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. reincorporated in the State of Delaware and was renamed Sotheby's. In July 2016, Chinese insurance company Taikang Life became Sotheby's largest shareholder. In June 2019, Sotheby's announced that it was being acquired by French-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi at a 61% market premium.