But the scandals helped ruin Freed -- he was hurt by negative publicity -- while Clark divested himself of his music business interests and was praised as a hard-working young businessman, Covach says.
The sale or spinoff would be just one of several by drugmakers: Pfizer spun off its veterinary products business, and Abbott Laboratories divested its drugs unit.
Likewise, Kodak took a costly black eye in the battery business from industry leaders Duracell and Eveready, and divested from its battery spin-off, Ultra Technologies, with another painful loss.