Suppose you own a corporation MYTABLES, Inc. that manufactures tables. Your company has an opportunity to go into the desk market, but wants to limit its exposure. So, it sets up a subsidiary, DESKO, LTD. MYTABLES, INC., owns all of the stock of DESKO. People love the desks. The Company needs capital to hire more people to make desks. The owners go on the Barracuda Tank and Cube Markan offers to give $1 Million for 18% of the Company, but wants DESKO separated from MYTABLES. So, how do you separate out DESKO from MYTABLES. Under Section 355 of the IRS Code you can do what is known as a spin-off and so long as the DESKO has a different line of business from MYTABLES (they do) and so long as the shareholders of MYTABLES still own 80% of the stock of DESKO, then you can spin off, so long as DESKO and MYTABLES continue in business. There are lots of technical rules under Section 355, but that is the gist of it.