[Jennifer Schram]

In many large divestiture programs, buyers are well capitalized, diligenced, and operationally prepared, yet sellers still experience value leakage, extended TSAs, and execution drag. In practice, the shortfall often does not stem from buyer readiness, but from seller-side constraints that surface during separation. Common issues include unclear separation boundaries, delayed decisions on stranded costs, underinvestment in carve-out readiness, and incentive misalignment between retained and exiting teams. In multi-asset or multi-country programs, these challenges are frequently amplified by shared services dependencies, data and IP entanglement, and regulatory timing constraints.
From a PMI and separation perspective:
– Where do divestiture programs most consistently lose value before Day 1?
– Which seller-side decisions are hardest to reverse once made?
– How should governance, incentives, and TSA strategy be designed to minimize execution drag?

Interested in perspectives from PMI professionals who have led or supported complex divestitures and carve-outs.

[Amanda David]

Even when buyers are ready, divestitures often underperform because sellers underestimate internal readiness. Assets may be carved out on paper, but systems, decision rights, and leadership attention remain tied to the parent longer than expected.

Without a clearly defined standalone operating model and disciplined TSA execution, buyer readiness alone isn’t enough to deliver value.

[Author]

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