Asset stripping

A term first coined in the UK in the late 19605 to describe the practice of taking over a company, splitting it into parts and selling them for a profit. It was a derogatory label since it implied no effort on the part of the acquirer to develop the company. By the late 19805 asset stripping was more in tune with the spirit of the times, so when the practice once more swept through the corporations of the UK and the United States it was more likely to be called "financial restructuring".