Challenges
Both in periods of economic growth and downturn, more and more companies are taking a systematic look at their corporate portfolios. As they do so, divestiture, or the sell-off of pieces of the portfolio, is quickly rising to the top of the corporate-finance agenda. This is leading companies to consider a number of important questions:
Which businesses should I think about exiting and why?
Which is the best divestiture path: trade sale, private-equity sale, management buyout, or initial public offering?
Who would be the best buyer to ensure maximum value realization?
How can I attract that buyer with a compelling equity story and defendable business plan?
How can I manage the divestiture process to shield the day-to-day-business from transaction turmoil?
BCG Competencies
BCG works with companies to ensure that their decisions to divest are based on a clear strategic rationale and sound principles of value creation. We ground all of our work in a company's portfolio strategy, determining which businesses do or do not fit. We also advise on the best approach to divestiture—for example, whether to sell directly to an industrial or private-equity buyer or to float shares of the new entity through an initial public offering.
And we use our experience in literally hundreds of transactions to help clients develop a compelling equity story, negotiate with potential buyers, and manage the entire process of divestiture preparation and execution.
Our practice consists of more than 130 partners and 700 trained professionals at all BCG levels worldwide, all with significant experience in corporate development and corporate finance. Specifically, our corporate-finance task force and cadre and our Value Science Center—a dedicated global group of more than 100 specialists—provide comprehensive support for our clients.