Publications
Publications
- February 2022
- HBS Case Collection
Corporate Divestitures and Spinoffs
By: David J. Collis, Ashley Hartman and Terrence Shu
Abstract
Increasingly in the 2010s, corporations turned to divestitures and spinoffs to streamline their operations. Over the course of one week in November 2021, conglomerates General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, and Toshiba announced plans for separation. The news reflected the broader shift toward divestitures as a means to focus on core competencies and achieve growth. By that time, more than three-quarters of companies (78%) believed that they should have divested assets sooner, as opposed to just 41% of companies in 2016. Further, 76% of companies anticipated that the Covid-19 pandemic would increase divestment plan momentum. This case explores the rationales for and against spinoffs, and provides recent examples of companies that followed their spinoffs with consolidations (and vice versa).
Keywords
Divestiture; Divestment; Spin Off; Spinoffs; Business Conglomerates; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy
Citation
Collis, David J., Ashley Hartman, and Terrence Shu. "Corporate Divestitures and Spinoffs." Harvard Business School Case 722-384, February 2022.