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26 Aug 2026
5 minute read

2026 Global Divestiture Survey

Five moves to reshape long-term value in divestiture strategy

Divestitures are becoming less opportunistic and more strategic. In the first edition of our 2026 Global Divestiture Survey, we are exploring the key insights that underly this shift, and the five steps leading companies can take to embrace it.

The rise of transformational divestitures
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Redefining divestiture strategy

Entering 2026, divestitures have become one of the most strategic levers to renew portfolios and redeploy capital. Separations have historically been opportunistic moves. Now, they can increasingly be deliberate mechanisms for reshaping the enterprise.

As investment thresholds rise and external pressure sharpens, leaders are reassessing which of their businesses truly merit incremental capital and which ones dilute focus, margin, or future capacity.

The result is a divestiture environment characterized by strategic intent, execution discipline, and a clearer linkage to long-term transformation agendas.

Five insights will likely define the year ahead and beyond for deal leaders:

  1. Divestitures have become strategy-led portfolio moves instead of reactive disposals. Dominant motivations now include capital reallocation and operating model focus.
  2. Preparation quality continues to be the largest driver of value. It influences proceeds, time to close, buyer engagement, and cost-to-achieve.
  3. Execution gaps remain persistent. This is particularly true with respect to data quality, separation readiness, regulatory planning, and leadership alignment.
  4. Organizations underestimate post-close value erosion. Stranded costs, transition service agreement (TSA) complexity, and legal entity and operational redesign challenges contribute to that loss of value.
  5. Outperformers treat divestitures as intentionally designed transformation events. They embed separation design, value-story development, and functional readiness well before they go to market.

How the corporate divestiture environment changed heading into 2026

Divestiture activity is normalizing, following a post-pandemic surge. In 2025, volumes declined but deal values rose,1 as companies shifted from opportunistic sales to strategy-led separations. The defining trend is intentionality: Many organizations are divesting to reshape their portfolios rather than react to external pressures.

  • Large-cap deals continue to drive market value. 11 transactions, each more than US$10 billion in value, raised the average deal size in 2024 and 2025 and obscured steadier mid-market activity. Value is increasingly concentrated in fewer, larger separations.2
  • During the same period, motivations shifted from external pressures to strategy-led decisions. In 2024, regulatory shifts and competitive pressures dominated. By 2026, organizations were likely to divest primarily to sharpen strategic focus, redeploy capital, and improve operating model efficiency. Opportunistic inbound interest remains high. But now that interest supports portfolio reshaping instead of driving it.

What will make or break value creation in 2026?

Seller performance has improved since 2024, when only one-third met expectations for timing and proceeds. By the end of 2025, nearly half did. Still, results remain inconsistent: For many sellers, meeting expectations is effectively a coin toss.

Leading sellers expand the value equation:

  • They increase optionality through early portfolio analysis.
  • They minimize ongoing commitments post-close.
  • They reduce value erosion across the life cycle through end-to-end ownership.

Rather than viewing divestitures as starting at market testing, they deliberately design separations early, optimize the entity to be divested and the remaining organization during the deal, and exit TSAs and stranded costs quickly to refocus on growth.

Five steps to drive more strategic divestiture decisions

What strategies influenced value-creation divestitures in the last year—and offer guidance for future deals?

Portfolio reviews are less frequent than in 2024, but strategic alternatives such as joint ventures, partnerships, and alliances now anchor separation planning for many organizations. This declining cadence risks creating a reactive posture, in which portfolio decisions are triggered only by performance or strategic issues. This approach contrasts with the “always-on” portfolio mindset that growth transformers demonstrate.

In 2024, nearly two-thirds of respondents evaluated divestiture candidates more than twice per year. By end of 2025, fewer than half do. Meanwhile, most respondents (71%) now evaluate or pursue strategic alternatives to structure upcoming separations. This is a reflection of the increasing creativity it takes to unlock value from complex portfolios, as well as the market’s shift toward flexible, multistage separation models.

When sellers prepare a divestiture for marketing and diligence, they should account for what motivates buyers. Leading sellers reflect these motivations directly in the preparation and sales process.

The asymmetry persists between what sellers and buyers value. Sellers prioritize price, speed, certainty, and execution reliability. Buyers prioritize strategic fit, synergies, integration feasibility, and long-term value creation. This tension shapes nearly every carve-out. Sellers focus on value at close, while buyers focus on value after close. Both value speed and certainty, but sellers emphasize it more, given their exposure to stranded costs and organizational disruption.

Signing a divestiture deal is a major milestone. It’s a step that translates preparation, diligence, and cost-to-achieve into a binding agreement.

Most abandoned deals collapse before signing. Abandonment rates have improved: In our 2024 survey, 98% of respondents reported at least one abandoned deal. By the end of 2025, only one-third did.

Abandoned deals most often stem from shifts in internal strategy, unmet value expectations, or limited early buyer interest. Buyers walk away most frequently when they do not see value-creation potential. Both buyers and sellers cited regulatory changes and shareholder opposition as additional external risks.

Once a divestiture is signed, getting to close and achieving a seamless Day 1 is critical to value delivery.

The biggest hurdles are typically regulatory and legal approvals along with separating the divested business from the remaining organization. TSAs have historically helped accelerate closing,3 but they often introduce complexity later.

Sign-to-close timelines have lengthened by roughly six percent since 2020 and can extend to ten months or more, with a median of about three months.4 Regulatory scrutiny, particularly for cross-border deals, remains the most common cause of delays, followed by separation-readiness gaps, execution delays, and unexpected complexity.

For many dealmakers, Day 1 feels like completion. Operationally, however, most businesses are far from fully separated at close.

Sellers and buyers report similar post-close challenges. Dis-synergies and tax or legal complexity are the most persistent. But their pressures differ: Sellers struggle with stranded costs, TSAs, and financial reporting, while buyers focus on talent retention, integration feasibility, acquired exposures, and supply chain redesign. Sellers work to stabilize the remaining organization while buyers work to unlock value.

Endnotes
  1. Iain Macmillan, Joel Schlachtenhaufen, and J. Henning Buchholz, 2024 Global Corporate Divestiture Survey: Amid uncertainty, new muscles for new possibilities, Deloitte, 2024.
  2. S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC, S&P Capital IQ, accessed December 9, 2025, data as of December 8, 2025.
  3. Macmillan et al., 2024 Global Corporate Divestiture Survey: Amid uncertainty, new muscles for new possibilities.
  4. Deloitte analysis of S&P Capital IQ data as of December 8, 2025; 908 deals (divestitures only) with $100M+ in deal value, with Announcement or Closed date between January 2020 and December 2025, and a minimum close period of four weeks, excluding outliers or values outside 1.5 × IQR from the quartiles.
  5. Rob Arvai et al., Rebalancing your portfolio to fuel growth, Deloitte Asia Pacific, July 2024.

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Get in touch

J. Henning Buchholz

J. Henning Buchholz

M&A Transformation Leader
+1 832 943 9380
Jason Caulfield

Jason Caulfield

UK Divestments Leader
+44 (0)20 7303 4883

Dive deeper into regional divestiture trends

Divestiture trends across the Americas

After several years of strong momentum, organizations are now executing fewer separations, but more strategically significant ones.

Divestiture trends across Europe

The European market resembles a “selective reset,” with activity consolidating around higher-conviction moves aligned to long-term priorities.

Divestiture trends across Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific emerged as one of the strongest global M&A regions in 2025 in terms of value and volume, led by Japan, China, and India.

Divestiture trends across Africa

Divestiture activity across Africa over the past several years reflects a market characterized by selective momentum rather than sustained expansion.