divestiture

American  

[dih-ves-ti-cher, -choor, dahy-] / dɪˈvɛs tɪ tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər, daɪ- /

Also divestment

noun

1. the act of divesting.

2. the state of being divested.

3. something, as property or investments, that has been divested.

   to reexamine the company's acquisitions and divestitures.

4. Also divesture the sale of business holdings or part of a company, especially under legal compulsion.

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divestiture Cultural  

1. The act of a corporation or conglomerate in getting rid of a subsidiary company or division. In a tactic to pressure South Africa to end apartheid, during the 1980s many Americans and Europeans urged divestiture on corporations doing business in South Africa.

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Etymology

Origin of divestiture

First recorded in 1595–1605; di- ² + (in)vestiture

Example Sentences

A sale of Castrol, which BP said it was reviewing back in February, would be the company’s largest single divestiture so far.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Mr. Goldstein’s belief in the Company’s prospects remains strong, and the stock sales are intended solely for financial diversification purposes,” Sands said at October’s end, as the CEO began his divestitures.

From Barron's

Organic net sales, which exclude the impact from divestitures, decreased 1%.

From The Wall Street Journal

The divestitures would resolve FTC allegations that the proposed acquisition would allow Boeing to raise costs or make it more difficult for rival Airbus to compete, the regulator said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The agencies have reached seven settlements that required divestitures or promises to refrain from anticompetitive behavior so far this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• disinvestment
• divestment