"As American Express’s main product was a charge card requiring full payment every month, its revenues were largely based on fees paid by cardholders and merchants. This seemed more attractive than the credit-card business, which required undertaking greater credit risk. In short, American Express ap"
"Instead, shares of a spinoff are distributed directly to parent-company shareholders and the spinoff’s price is left to market forces. Often, management’s incentive-stock-option plan is based on this initial trading price. The lower the price of the spinoff, the lower the exercise price of the incen"
"If stock in a new spinoff is sold by the parent company through a rights offering, the parent company has, by definition, chosen not to pursue other alternatives. These alternatives could have included selling the spinoff’s businesses to another company or selling the spinoff to the public at large "