What is a spinoff?

“Spinoff” has multiple meanings in English. This page deals only with its meaning in a corporate or investment context.

A spinoff is a new, separate, independently managed company created from a division of an existing company or organization.  To use a popular example, AOL (AOL) was a unit of Time Warner (TWX) until late 2009, when it was spun off as an independently listed public company.

Spinoffs fall into several sub-categories, some accessible to passive investors, and some not.

For more on the subject, you might consider getting our research, or looking at some back issues, both here.