Complex sentence: The men renamed the business Northrup, Braslan and Goodwin Company and expanded its reach; but, after the economic Panic of 1893 and a fire in the company building, the business could not pay back its debts.
Split into simpler sentences: The men renamed the business Northrup, Braslan and Goodwin Company and expanded its reach. Yet after the economic panic of 1893 and a fire in the company building, the business could not pay back its debts.