Sears, Roebuck and Co. Thursday said it will spin off its ownership of the Allstate Corp. insurance subsidiary in a public offering to holders of Sears common stock.
Sears Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward A. Brennan, 60, used the spin-off announcement to disclose his intention to retire after the corporate realignment is accomplished.Sears officials said the distribution of the 360 million Allstate shares, currently valued at about $9 billion, would be one of the largest spin-offs in U.S. business history. They said Sears common shareholders would receive almost one share of Allstate stock for each Sears share.
The sale by Sears, which currently owns 80.1 percent of Allstate, would continue the merchandising company's strategy of dismantling its multi-industry structure to focus on its core retail operations.
The decision by Sears' board of directors was announced by Brennan, who said he personally recommended the action to the board.
The move will be considered at a spring shareholders meeting and is expected to be implemented by mid-1995.