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 also discusses the divestiture of the Stride and Row House brands and the wind down of AKT brand franchise operations. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024

Quarterly commentary Dover saw year-over-year organic bookings growth of 5% in the quarter — defined as total orders received from customers in the reported period excluding the impact of foreign-exchange rates and divestitures and acquisitions. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2024

Indeed, this divestiture plan bears alarming similarities to an earlier such scheme, also involving Albertsons. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024

Yost also defended the grocers' divestiture plan to C&S, saying that the move sufficiently addresses the competitive overlap. —Kimberly Chin, Axios, 15 Aug. 2024

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