Three into three
FOR investors in America's ITT, July 16th must have felt like déjà vu all over again. Less than two years ago ITT, the quintessential conglomerate built up by Harold Geneen, split itself into three easier-to-understand companies: Hartford Financial Services (an insurance group), ITT Industries (ranging from car parts to defence electronics) and a “new” ITT Corporation. Now, that hefty rump is being split into three more bits: ITT Destinations (hotels and gaming), ITT Educational Services (60 technical institutes) and yet another “new” ITT Corporation, which will humdrumly publish telephone directories. This may seem appropriate—ITT began life in 1920 as a telephone company in the Caribbean—but it marks the end of an era.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Three into three”
From the July 19th 1997 edition
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