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Would HP Spin Off Their Printer Business?
from the could-it? dept
One of the oddities of modern business is that companies often seem to feel compelled to spin off their best performing businesses on the idea that in selling it out, they can get a better return on the standalone business than when it's saddled with other businesses that are dragging it down. That's why AT&T spun off AT&T Wireless a few years back, despite how obvious it was that having a wireless component was going to be a necessity in the future. The whole thing makes you wonder whether or not these types of conglomerate businesses really make sense, if the best they can do is simply sell off their most important pieces. It looks like the trend isn't going to slow down however, as rumors are spreading that HP is now going to sell of their printer business -- the only profitable division they have. Of course, the other way of looking at this, since the spun off division would apparently keep the HP name, is that it's really a ditching of all those other divisions (reinvented under the name Innovative Technologies). Of course, HP went through a similar move a few years back when they spun off their testing unit under the name Agilent, so they have some experience in tossing off side businesses.
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Quibble/clarification
Signed, a lover of good test equipment.
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Re: Quibble/clarification
However, nowhere, in any of this do I think I imply that a "side business" is any less important. In fact, if you look at the post, the opposite point is made. Companies seem to be spinning off their most important businesses.
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HP
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