Nov 13th 2021
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After years of complaints from investors that its sprawling empire of businesses was hindering profits, General Electric decided to split into three, independently run companies. Its health-care assets will be spun off in 2023; energy and power will be rolled into one and spun off in 2024; and aviation is to remain the sole focus of today’s GE. The conglomerate has been shedding businesses for over a decade. The decision to split heralds the end of arguably the world’s best-known conglomerate, a titan of American business throughout the 20th century.
On the road
Rivian, a maker of electric vehicles backed by Amazon, had a successful stockmarket debut on the Nasdaq. Its stock rose by 30% above the offer price, giving it a market capitalisation of over $100bn, more than either Ford or General Motors. The company…
