Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities, 6th Edition

Chapter 15

Alternative Exit and Restructuring Strategies

Divestitures, Spin-Offs, Carve-Outs, Split-Ups, Split-Offs, and Tracking Stocks

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

—Oscar Wilde

Inside M&A: Bristol-Myers Squibb Splits off the Rest of Mead Johnson

Facing the loss of patent protection for its blockbuster drug Plavix, a blood thinner, in 2012, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company decided to split off its 83% ownership stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company in late 2009 through an offer to its shareholders to exchange their Bristol-Myers shares for Mead Johnson shares. The decision was part of a longer-term restructuring strategy that included the sale of assets to raise money for acquisitions of biotechnology drug companies ...