Cendant Break-up continued…..

Cendant’s Shares Slide on News of Breakup Plan – New York Times:

Looks like yesterday’s hunch was the right one:

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Silverman said he chose to stay most involved in that unit because it probably had “the most upside but also the greatest challenges.”

In particular, the travel division faces powerful resistance from its big suppliers. Hotel chains are balking at the markups taken on rooms sold by the online agencies. And airlines have been fighting the fees charged by reservation systems. This has slowed down what had been very fast-growing businesses.

“We are still making a lot of money, but the rate of growth, top line and bottom line, is slowing significantly,” Mr. Silverman said.

Mr. Keung, the CIBC analyst, said: “Henry wants to leave a positive legacy. The real challenge is the travel distribution business, so that is where he belongs.”