Hewlett Packard (HP) Announced the Spin-Off of Its Agilent Technologies

question 21

Essay

Hewlett Packard (HP) announced the spin-off of its Agilent Technologies unit to focus on its main business of computers and printers, where sales have been lagging behind such competitors as Sun Microsystems. Agilent makes test, measurement, and monitoring instruments; semiconductors; and optical components. It also supplies patient-monitoring and ultrasound-imaging equipment to the health care industry. HP will retain an 85% stake in the company. The cash raised through the 15% equity carve-out will be paid to HP as a dividend from the subsidiary to the parent. Hewlett Packard will provide Agilent with $983 million in start-up funding. HP retained a controlling interest until mid-2000, when it spun-off the rest of its shares in Agilent to HP shareholders as a tax-free transaction.
-Discuss the conditions under which this spin-off would constitute a tax-free transaction.

Recognize the concept and optimal quantity determination of public goods.

Appreciate the complexities and challenges in quantifying benefits for cost-benefit analysis of public goods.

Understand society's considerations for the optimal amount of pollution abatement and the factors affecting it.

Grasp the economic impacts of supply-side market failures and solutions to address them.

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Definitions:

Learning Level

The degree of understanding or skill that an individual has acquired in a particular subject or activity.

Teaching Plan

A detailed strategy developed by educators or healthcare providers to instruct students or patients on a particular topic.

Life Experiences

The collective events, situations, and activities that an individual encounters throughout their lifetime.

Attention Deficit Disorder

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty in maintaining attention and/or hyperactivity and impulsiveness.