A rising number of US -companies have moved to streamline operations this year through asset sales and spin-offs in a bid to remedy lacklustre stock -market valuations for -conglomerates.

Divestitures have risen to a record share of global mergers and acquisitions activity so far this year, according to Dealogic data. Spin-offs and asset sales accounted for about half of -global dealmaking, up slightly on last year. In the US, such activity is up more than 40 per cent on the first half of 2010.

“There is a trend right now in the public markets towards purity, focus and specialisation,” says Mark McMaster, vice-chairman of US investment banking at Lazard. “The impetus for separation is usually a meaningful and persistent undervaluation of a portfolio of businesses.”