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Restructuring through spin‐off or sell‐off: transforming information asymmetries into financial gain

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  • Donald D. Bergh
  • Richard A. Johnson
  • Rocki‐Lee Dewitt

Abstract

The authors examine how managers select between corporate restructuring implementation alternatives and how those decisions influence the profitability of the restructuring event. They argue that managers and owners have information asymmetries with respect to the assets in the restructuring and the restructured firms' diversification strategy, and that managers select between two popular implementation alternatives, spin‐offs and sell‐offs, to convert knowledge differences into financial gain. When the restructured assets reside in primary and related business lines or the firm has low and related diversification among its business lines, the restructuring is difficult for observers to assess and understand. Spin‐offs most effectively and profitably reduce information asymmetries by transferring assets to the capital market and increasing the efficiency and transparency of the restructuring firm. Conversely, when the restructured assets reside in secondary and unrelated business lines or the firm has high diversification, sell‐offs best mitigate asymmetries by using market forces to reallocate assets to their most productive uses while improving the strategy and performance of the restructuring firm. Tests of a sample of 204 restructuring events support the hypotheses. Overall, the findings suggest that the influence of corporate restructuring on financial performance is determined in part through how the restructuring is implemented. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald D. Bergh & Richard A. Johnson & Rocki‐Lee Dewitt, 2008. "Restructuring through spin‐off or sell‐off: transforming information asymmetries into financial gain," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 133-148, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:29:y:2008:i:2:p:133-148
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.652
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    Cited by:

    1. Pearce, John A. & Patel, Pankaj C., 2022. "Reaping the financial and strategic benefits of a divestiture by spin-off," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 291-301.
    2. Forcadell, Francisco Javier & Sanchez-Riofrio, Angelica & Guerras-Martín, Luis Ángel & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2020. "Is the restructuring-performance relationship moderated by the economic cycle and the institutional environment for corporate governance?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 397-407.
    3. Katja Maria Hydle & Kjerst Vikse Meland, 2016. "Supplying Spin-Offs: Collaboration Practices in the Perpetuation of an Organizaton," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 12(4), pages 51-68.
    4. Chiu, Shih-Chi (Sana) & Pathak, Seemantini & Sabz, Azadeh, 2022. "The impact of advisor status on corporate divestitures and market reactions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 107-121.
    5. Victor Manuel Bennett & Emilie R. Feldman, 2017. "Make Room! Make Room! A Note on Sequential Spinoffs and Acquisitions," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(2), pages 100-110, June.
    6. Kyungsuk Lee & Taewoo Roh, 2020. "Proactive Divestiture and Business Innovation: R&D Input and Output Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Isabel Oliveira & Jorge Figueiredo & António Cardoso & Maria Nascimento Cunha, 2023. "Empirical evidence of the parent company's influence on spin-off: from creation to performance," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 70(3), pages 379-394, September.
    8. Shih-chi (Sana) Chiu & Azadeh Sabz, 2022. "Can Corporate Divestiture Activities Lead to Better Corporate Social Performance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 849-866, September.
    9. Hildebrandt, Peter & Oehmichen, Jana & Pidun, Ulrich & Wolff, Michael, 2018. "Multiple recipes for success – A configurational examination of business portfolio restructurings," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 381-391.
    10. Adrian Lüthge, 2020. "The concept of relatedness in diversification research: review and synthesis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-35, February.
    11. Schweizer, Roger & Lagerström, Katarina, 2020. "Understanding a demerger process: The divorce metaphor," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    12. P. A. Padmanabhan, 2018. "Do Demerger Announcements Impact Shareholders Wealth? An Empirical Analysis Using Event Study," Vision, , vol. 22(1), pages 22-31, March.
    13. Nazir Saima & Chisti Khalid, 2023. "Corporate Spin-Offs and Shareholders’ Wealth: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda," Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 42-63, October.
    14. Ozbek, O. Volkan, 2020. "The Market Success of Corporate Spin-offs: Do CEO External Directorships, Age, and Their Interactions Matter?," American Business Review, Pompea College of Business, University of New Haven, vol. 23(2), pages 241-259, November.
    15. Rehnen, Lena Marie, 2016. "Exit strategies of loyalty programs," jbm - Journal of Business Market Management, Free University Berlin, Marketing Department, vol. 9(1), pages 564-596.
    16. Andreou, Panayiotis C. & Louca, Christodoulos & Petrou, Andreas P., 2016. "Organizational learning and corporate diversification performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3270-3284.
    17. Aaron J. Mandell, 2022. "The value of tunneling: Evidence from master limited partnership formations," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 355-380, January.
    18. Erl, Ludwig & Kiesel, Florian & Koenigsmarck, Markus & Schiereck, Dirk, 2023. "Performance effects of sell-offs and the role of sell-off experience," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 244-257.
    19. Boulifa, Hichem & Uchida, Konari, 2022. "Like father, like son: Who creates listed subsidiaries?," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. Shih-Kai Lin & Hung-Chang Chung, 2023. "The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance From the perspective of MASEM: The Mediation Effect of Market Orientation and the Moderated Mediation Effect of Environmental ," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    21. Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong & Zhang, Hailiang, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate diversification?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 254-269.

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