Kraft Heinz on Wednesday said it would stop plans to split into two separate companies, reversing its earlier decision to separate into an entity focused on groceries and another focused on sauces and spreads. The move places the packaged-foods firm among a small group of large corporations that have stepped back from planned corporate breakups.
The companies that have publicly dropped or postponed proposed spinoffs include:
- PIRELLI - Earlier this month the board of the Italian tyre maker opposed any spinoff of its Cyber Tyre activities in response to a proposal put forward by Chinese shareholder Sinochem intended to resolve a governance dispute.
- DUPONT - In January 2025, industrial materials maker DuPont said it no longer intended to carve out its water business into a publicly traded company, while confirming it would proceed with the spinoff of its electronics business.
- VIRGIN MEDIA O2 - In July 2025, Telefonica’s CEO Marc Murtra told Reuters the plan to spin off the joint venture Virgin Media O2’s fixed network in Britain had been scrapped.
- PROSIEBENSAT.1 - In April 2024 an effort by investor MFE-MediaForEurope to push the German media group to separate its e-commerce and online dating operations narrowly failed to obtain the necessary shareholder support.
- HSBC - In April 2024, after defeating a resolution from Hong Kong-based shareholders, HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker informed shareholders in Hong Kong that a spinoff of the bank’s lucrative Asian business would not take place.
- BAYER - In March 2024 Bayer announced it would delay plans to split the group for up to three years so the incoming chief executive could concentrate on matters including debt and litigation.
Each of these cases reflects a decision by corporate leadership or shareholders to halt or rethink structural changes that had been publicly contemplated. The firms cited represent a range of sectors - from consumer packaged goods and tyres to industrial materials, telecommunications, media, banking and pharmaceuticals - illustrating that retreating from planned separations has not been confined to a single industry.
The Kraft Heinz decision follows its September announcement to separate into a groceries business and a sauces and spreads business, but the company has now chosen to stop that course. The examples above show a pattern of companies either abandoning or postponing spinoff plans for a variety of stated reasons, including shareholder opposition and executive priorities.
Note: The article lists companies that have publicly called off or delayed spinoff plans and provides the dates and specific outcomes as reported.