Enhancing managerial incentives and value creation: Evidence from corporate spinoffs

We study corporate spinoffs with changes in CEO compensation to examine how spinoffs affect managerial incentive compensation and whether the changes in managerial compensation can explain the value enhancement and operating performance improvements that occur following spinoffs. Analyzing a sample of 124 non-taxable spinoffs during 1990-1997, we find that changes in incentive compensation are a significant motive for spinoffs. Changes in managerial incentives alone are consistent with the post-spinoff changes in operating performance, while changes in business focus are not. Spinoffs that are not accompanied by enhanced pay-performance relationship do not improve operating performance even with increased business focus.