More Breakups Are Coming, and One Company Is Doing It Twice
Major corporate breakups are reshaping what shareholders own, but one company is doing it twice and another may hand you cash instead of a second stock. Knowing the difference before these deals close could change how you position your portfolio.
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Corteva (NYSE:CTVA | CTVA Price Prediction) has split into two companies, and we walked through what its shareholders own now. Four more large separations are coming. Each has its own timeline, and each leaves shareholders holding something different. They are listed below by expected timing, soonest first.
In a spinoff, the parent distributes shares of the new company to shareholders, who end up with two stocks. In a sale, a buyer takes the business and shareholders keep one stock while management decides how to use the proceeds. Three of these four deals are spinoffs; the fourth is heading toward a sale.
1. Madison Square Garden Sports: Knicks and Rangers Split Within Weeks
Madison Square Garden Sports (NYSE:MSGS) is splitting the New York Knicks and Rangers into two separate public companies. The board approved the spinoff on September 30, with the company confidentially filing its Form 10 in May 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal. The spinoff is expected to close by the end of October 2026, ahead of all other deals on this list.
Shareholders will own a basketball team and a hockey team as two separate stocks, a rarity in public markets. The company is worth $9.8 billion, with shares up 55.42% this year. The Knicks’ championship caused a $66.9 million jump in fiscal fourth-quarter playoff revenue. Management backs the split. They say it will “enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate each company’s assets and growth prospects.” One cost: the two companies will pay more in income taxes than the combined entity once new tax laws take effect in fiscal 2028.
2. Keurig Dr Pepper: Third Coffee Chief, Same Deadline, According to Food Dive
Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) plans to split its beverage and coffee businesses in early 2027. The coffee company, built on the JDE Peet’s acquisition that closed in April 2026, will own Keurig, Peet’s, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. It paid $18 billion for JDE Peet’s, with the new Global Coffee Co. expected to generate $16 billion in annual revenue.
Leadership turnover adds execution risk: Russ Torres, joining from Kimberly-Clark, is the third person selected to run the coffee business since the split was announced. His predecessors (CFO Sudhanshu Priyadarshi and JDE Peet’s CEO Rafael Oliveira, who left for Heineken) departed before taking the role. Torres starts Nov. 3 and will report to Chief Executive Tim Cofer, who runs the beverage company post-split. U.S. Coffee net sales fell 3.2% in the second quarter, and leverage stands at 4.3x with a year-end target of 4.1x.
3. Comcast: Second Spinoff Is Much Bigger
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) completed one spinoff earlier this year, moving cable networks and digital assets including CNBC into Versant Media. On June 29, it announced a larger move: a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky into a new public company. Comcast shares had fallen 26.0% over the prior year.
Shareholders will own both companies. The media company gets Universal theme parks, film and TV studios, NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, Bravo and Sky. Comcast keeps cable, wireless, and business services. Co-chief executive Mike Cavanagh will run NBCUniversal, and former chief financial officer Michael Angelakis will run Comcast. Peacock turned profitable for the first time with $189 million of EBITDA and 48 million paid subscribers. Comcast paused share buybacks on June 29, 2026, and plans to keep up to 19.9% of NBCUniversal for up to a year post-split, selling it over time. CNBC reports the transaction should close in about a year pending board and regulatory approval.
4. Textron: Shareholders May Get Cash Instead of a Second Stock
Textron (NYSE:TXT) plans to separate its Industrial segment. The remaining aerospace and defense company would be built on Textron Aviation, Bell and Textron Systems. Industrial includes Kautex, which makes plastic fuel systems and battery enclosures for automakers, and Textron Specialized Vehicles, whose brands include E-Z-GO, Jacobsen, PACE Technologies and TUG Technologies. Industrial should generate over $3 billion in 2026 revenue. New Textron is expected to bring in more than $12 billion with a $19.2 billion backlog, and the company aims to finish within 12 to 18 months, according to Design and Development Today.
Textron has not chosen between a spinoff and a sale, with signs pointing to a sale. Management spoke on the July 28 earnings call: “We are kind of doing a dual path of initiating the sale process as well as the work required to do a spin.” Management also mentioned “a significant number of inbounds” from interested buyers. If Industrial is sold, Textron shareholders get no second stock. Shares are down 12.7% this year, giving the company a market value of $13.3 billion.
Spinoff or Sale Decides What Ends Up in Your Account
A spinoff gives shareholders a second stock while a sale leaves that decision with management, and Madison Square Garden Sports, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Comcast are on track for spinoffs while Textron leans toward a sale. All timelines are company targets and often slip, making deal structure more important than timing.
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Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.
Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community.
Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.
Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions.
