divestiture

noun

di·​ves·​ti·​ture dī-ˈve-stə-ˌchu̇r 

-chər,

də-,

 chiefly Southern  -t(y)u̇(ə)r

1

: the act of divesting

2

: the compulsory transfer of title or disposal of interests (such as stock in a corporation) upon government order

Examples of divestiture in a Sentence

Divestitures are used to break up monopolies.

Before divestiture, the telephone company monopolized the state.

Recent Examples on the Web

The filing details a strategic realignment around Spatial Core and divestiture of non-core assets, including the divestiture of QReal, LLC and Glimpse Turkey. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 13 Feb. 2025

The divestiture plans come as Sycamore Partners explores a potential buyout of Walgreens. —Aaron Weitzman, Axios, 13 Feb. 2025

Proposed in 2022, the agreement was abruptly ended in 2023 when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) determined only divestiture would resolve US concerns. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2025

Support In a meeting with the U.S. House of Representatives' select committee on China earlier this week, McCourt and his co-bidder Kevin O'Leary received assurances that lawmakers on both sides of the U.S. political aisle are committed to ensuring a qualified divestiture. —Krystal Hu, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

divest + -iture (as in investiture)

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

divestiture

noun

di·​ves·​ti·​ture dī-ˈves-ti-ˌchu̇r, də-, -chər 

1

: the sale or transfer of title to a property (as an operating division) under court order (as in bankruptcy)

2

: the sale of an asset (as a business division) that is unprofitable, does not enhance a corporate restructuring, or is felt to be morally reprehensible