De-Merger

The Holy Grail for a movie or television producer lies in creating a franchise that will result in multiple spinoffs. Walt Disney created the first spinoffs, featuring supporting characters, such as Goofy and Donald Duck, in standalone films after first being seen with franchise tentpole character Mickey Mouse. Star Wars, The Avengers, Star Trek, and other franchises that have successfully kept the brand while migrating to different characters maximize the viewing, merchandising, and ancillary revenues for a franchise concept. Spinoffs, which expand into separate entities, are a synonymous term in the finance world for a De-Merger.

A curious example of a De-Merger: When General Electric (NYSE: GE) was getting out of the financing business, it De-Merged to focus on manufacturing and energy. The De-merger of Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) as a separate public company from GE was a successful spinoff. It was like rats jumping the ship, as GE cratered shortly thereafter. De-mergers work, and they don't. (But if you're an investment banker executing that de-merger, you get paid either way so...party on, dude.)