Industrial-equipment maker Illinois Tool Works (ITW 0.83%) has announced that it's undertaking a strategic review of its packaging division, including its sale or spinoff. The segment designs and manufactures steel, plastic, and paper products used for bundling, shipping, and protecting transported goods. The manufacturer expects the review process to last through the rest of the year.
Illinois Tool began reviewing a number of segments last year as part of a process to shed unprofitable lines or combine units. Last October it sold a 51% stake in its decorative services business for $1.1 billion, which followed the sale of its laminates business in August and its paint finishings business in April.
The sales reverse the trend the manufacturer had started earlier in the decade of buying up as many businesses as it could. At one point it owned more than 800 businesses. As a result of the divestitures, however, revenue growth at Illinois Tool Works has leveled off.
ITW has retained J.P. Morgan Securities and Goldman Sachs as its financial advisors.
ITW Revenue TTM data by YCharts.
