Separations can be long and painful, though in the end, once they’ve gone their various ways, each of the parties can be happier with life on their own. That is the plan with Smiths Group, the FTSE 100 engineer whose stop-start split with its medical devices division is set to culminate in a break.
There’s plenty to be resolved about how the separation will work: whether, for example, Smiths will retain a stake in its medical unit, spin it off in London or New York and when it might take place.
Confirmation, as of November, that the split is going be a reality at some point also has reignited talk that the engineering conglomerate, whose five businesses don’t obviously sit together, may part ways with