Case Study In early 1996, Dun & Bradstreet management announced the firm would be divided into three publicly traded companies. Dun & Bradstreet would survive as a smaller, leaner firm while A.C. Nielsen, the media-ratings company, and Cognizant, a marketing information firm, would become separate corporations. At the time of the announcement, all three firms were part of the same parent company. In announcing the breakup, Dun & Bradstreet's chief executive officer said the decision was driven by management's desire to improve shareholder value. That statement implied management believed the three companies would be more valuable as separately owned and managed enterprises than as components of a single company. |
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