15:00 19 May 2020
Companies sell out their assets at rapid rate: EY
Over three quarters of the companies surveyed by EY (78 percent) plan divestment in the next two years. 57 percent of them want to get rid of some of their assets within 12 months. As many as 72 percent believe that some assets hold too long.
This is not surprising – the COVID-19 pandemic means that all companies, including 65 percent of those that have already reviewed their asset portfolio as a result of the economic crisis, have to rethink their strategy. The experience of the 2008 financial crisis shows that enterprises that get rid of some businesses in a timely manner have better results than others.
"Organizations that emerge stronger from today's crisis must not only transform their assets, but also core business," Bartłomiej Smolarek, Managing Partner of the EY Transaction Advisory Department, said.
Funds obtained through divestment will help maintain liquidity and strengthen the pandemic balance. They will also accelerate technological changes, e.g. automation. Coronavirus showed how much they are needed – more than half of the respondents (52 percent) of the EY survey indicates the need to raise funds for investment in technology as the main reason for divestment.
(WBJ)
