Fortive investors get a second spinoff

Article Excerpt

In July 2016, Danaher Corp. (New York symbol DHR) combined its Test & Measurement business with its Industrial Technologies operations to create Fortive. It then spun off the firm, and investors received one Fortive share for every two Danaher shares they held. In October 2020, Fortive spun off its automotive-related business as Vontier. It initially handed out 80.1% of Vontier’s shares to its own shareholders: they received two shares of Vontier stock for every five shares of Fortive they held. In January 2021, Fortive exchanged its remaining Vontier shares (a 19.9% stake) to retire $1.1 billion of its debt. Fortive now plans a second spinoff. The new firm will hold its Precision Technologies business, which makes measurement and testing equipment for design engineers. The spinoff should help unlock more value for Fortive, which is already up 55% since the initial split from Danaher. While Vontier has gained just 2% since its own listing, we still like its long-term prospects. FORTIVE CORP. $77 is a..