Spinning a line on value

In devising ways of unlocking equity value ­ as in so many other developments ­ the US leads, the UK picks up the theme almost simultaneously and continental Europe follows on more or less tardily. So it is with the equity technique presently in vogue with investment bankers and business managers in Europe ­ the spin-off.

In its most basic form, a spin-off enables a company to reorganize its corporate structure by initiating a separate stock market listing for a subsidiary or subsidiaries.