On the latest episode of The Deal’s Behind the Buyouts podcast, Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s global head of M&A structuring, David Dubner, dives into the rise in spinoffs and divestitures globally.
The number of such transactions, or “corporate separations” as Dubner calls them, reached their highest in a decade at 30 global deals in 2022, according to a May report from Goldman and Ernst & Young LLP.
“A profound change we have seen in the capital markets over the past few years has been the rise in interest rates, rising cost of capital, and what that’s led to is corporate boards and management teams reassessing effectively what they are the optimal owners of,” Dubner said.
While spinoffs tend to be size and industry agnostic, Dubner said a growing number of transactions have been above $5 billion, with industrials and healthcare — which tend to have more complex portfolios — accounting for 50% of globally announced transactions in 2022.
Goldman has advised on major spinoffs such as Kellogg Co.’s split into two publicly traded companies, Kellanova (K) and WK Kellogg Co. (KLG) in October, and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) separation of its consumer health business, Kenvue Inc. (KVUE), in May.
Listen to the full podcast with David Dubner below:
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