GE (NYSE:GE) announced that its board of directors approved the previously announced spinoff of its GE HealthCare business.
Prior to the spinoff, GE expects GE HealthCare to convert into a corporation named GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. It anticipates trading for the company to begin on the Nasdaq market on Jan. 4, 2023, under the “GEHC” ticker. The company registered a Form 10 statement with the SEC last month with the expectation of the spinoff completing at the start of 2023.
To effect the separation of businesses, GE’s board approved a distribution to shareholders of at least 80.1% of GE HealthCare’s outstanding shares. Holders of GE common stock are entitled to receive one share of GEHC common stock for every three shares of GE common stock held on Dec. 16, 2022. GE expects the distribution to occur after market close on Jan. 3, 2023.
Effective upon the spinoff, GE plans to retain 19.9% of the outstanding shares of GEHC common stock. GE shareholders don’t need to take action to receive shares of GEHC common stock. They don’t need to pay any consideration or surrender or exchange shares of GE common stock to participate.
“Today’s announcement marks one of the final milestones for our planned spin-off of GE HealthCare as we move toward launching three independent, industry-leading, and investment-grade companies,” said GE Chair and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. “GE Healthcare is driving precision care globally, with a clear strategy for value creation that will benefit patients, customers, and shareholders under the leadership of CEO Peter Arduini and his team.”
Last week, GE announced that GE HealthCare closed an offering of senior notes worth $8.5 billion. The company earlier this month announced the offering in connection with the planned spinoff.