Massive Conglomerates Split Into Multiple Companies, Mirroring Earlier Move From GE

As previously reported by Benzinga, General Electric ($GE@US) is planning to split into 3 different companies that span the healthcare, aviation, and energy industries. After the news broke, there’s been a cavalcade of companies choosing to break up into smaller divisions. On Friday Japan’s Toshiba Corp ($TOSYY@Japan) announced that it would split into 3 different companies, a move that provides a complete overhaul that may appease shareholders. Toshiba will maintain a company to manage its stake in Kioxia Holdings (and others,) splitting off the energy and infrastructure businesses into another company while the device and storage operations will form yet another. The company’s stock has struggled for years, and the firm has experienced more than its fair share of scandals. Starting with an accounting scandal in 2015 a collusion scandal involving the Japanese trade ministry, the firm has been facing pressure from shareholders to go private. Even as the news broke, the company’s listing in Frankfurt fell 4% to open the market on Friday. In other news, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ@US) is splitting into two companies that will handle pharmaceuticals on one side and consumer goods on the other. Johnson & Johnson stock fell nearly three-quarters of a percent as the news broke.