1. The sale of peripheral parts of a business to concentrate on its core activities. This may be because it is believed that the outlying parts of a business empire could operate more profitably if they became independent or joined different groupings, or to raise money for paying off debt.

2. The process of breaking a product into separate components and selling each component separately. For example, discount airlines sell a ticket for a flight then charge separately for baggage, food, choice of seat, etc.