divestiture

noun di·ves·ti·ture \ dī-ˈves-tə-ˌchu̇r , -chər , də- , chiefly Southern -t(y)u̇(ə)r \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Examples: divestiture in a Sentence

Definition of divestiture

1 : the act of divesting

2 : the compulsory transfer of title or disposal of interests (such as stock in a corporation) upon government order

See divestiture defined for English-language learners

Examples of divestiture in a Sentence

Divestitures are used to break up monopolies.
Before divestiture, the telephone company monopolized the state.

Recent Examples of divestiture from the Web

Depends on the benefit The spin-offs represent the largest merger divestiture ever required by the U.S., said Delrahim.

— kevin mccoy, USA TODAY, "Mega deal: Bayer-Monsanto $66B merger wins conditional Department of Justice approval," 29 May 2018
With the divestitures, Enbridge is making good on a goal of selling at least $2.33 billion in assets this year to whittle down the $14.5 billion in borrowings from the Spectra deal, which diversified the company into North American gas pipelines.

— kevin orland and alex nussbaum, Houston Chronicle, "Enbridge cuts Spectra deal debt with asset sales," 9 May 2018
Allergan has been looking at a range of strategic options for boosting its valuation, from divestitures to acquisitions to combinations.

— noemie bisserbe, WSJ, "Fast-Growing Shire PLC Had Pharmaceutical Rivals in a Takeover Frenzy," 19 Apr. 2018
Those divestitures were similar to ones proposed by the Justice Department and rejected by AT&T before the government filed its lawsuit.

— jim puzzanghera, latimes.com, "Justice Department makes final plea to judge to halt AT&T's proposed purchase of Time Warner or significantly scale it back," 30 Apr. 2018
But ethics watchdogs call his divestiture plan inadequate, and a series of missteps by the Kushners themselves has invited further scrutiny.

— cristina alesci, CNN, "Charles Kushner: 'I pushed Jared to do the deal' for 666 Fifth Ave.," 23 Apr. 2018
Administration officials also noted that several of Ms. Nixon’s proposals — including divestiture from fossil fuel companies and efforts to uphold the Paris Accord — have already been in the works under Governor Cuomo.

— jesse mckinley, New York Times, "Nixon Calls for New York to Fully Embrace Renewable Energy by 2050," 20 Apr. 2018
Besides generics, Brandicourt has overseen the divestiture of Sanofi’s veterinary-medicines business to Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH in a 22.8-billion-euro asset swap.

— phil serafino, Bloomberg.com, "Sanofi to Sell Generics for $2.4 Billion to Focus on Biotech," 17 Apr. 2018
Neither of the Parties in any form can hinder, by arbitrary and discriminatory means, the administration, operation, maintenance, use, usufruct, acquisition, expansion or divestiture of investments made by nationals or companies of the other Party.

— Washington Post, "Letter to Panama’s president from Trump Organization lawyers," 9 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'divestiture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of divestiture

divest + -iture (as in investiture)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1601

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

Financial Definition of DIVESTITURE

divestiture

noun

What It Is

A divestiture or divestment is the reduction of an asset or business through sale, liquidation, exchange, closure, or any other means for financial or ethical reasons. It is the opposite of investment.

How It Works

Let's assume Company XYZ is the parent of a food company, a car company, and a clothing company. If for some reason Company XYZ wants out of the car business, it might divest the business by selling it to another company, exchanging it for another asset, or closing down the car company.

Why It Matters

Optimists often look at divestitures as ways to streamline (i.e., "get back to basics"), reduce debt, and enhance shareholder value. Pessimists may view them as concessions that the divested assets were not performing well.

Source: Investing Answers

DIVESTITURE Defined for English Language Learners

divestiture

noun

Definition of divestiture for English Language Learners

finance : the act of selling stock, property, etc., because of a government order

Law Dictionary

divestiture

noun di·ves·ti·ture \ dī-ˈves-ti-ˌchu̇r, də-, -chər \

legal Definition of divestiture

1 : the sale or transfer of title to a property (as an operating division) under court order (as in bankruptcy)

2 : the sale of an asset (as a business division) that is unprofitable, does not enhance a corporate restructuring, or is felt to be morally reprehensible