Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) plans to split its oil-service group and its engineering and construction group into separate, wholly owned subsidiaries by midyear. While executives tout the move as cost-cutting, Wall Street analysts say this may be a prelude to creating two publicly traded companies, and could be seen as a defensive strategy against future asbestos liability. "I think the good news is that they are actively trying to figure out what they can do to help the stock. They want to help investors get more comfortable with the company and with the asbestos situation," says Joe Agular, who follows service and supply companies for Johnson Rice & Co. "The bad news, obviously, is there is some question that maybe all was not well within the organization. That's not my interpretation; that's just the way people could read it." The energy-services business will continue to be led by Edgar Ortiz as chief executive officer. The engineering and construction division, Kellogg Brown & Root or KBR-will retain Randy Harl as CEO. The energy-services group will have a new president, John Gibson, who will succeed the retiring Jody Powers. There are no specific plans at this point to create two publicly traded companies, Halliburton reports. But the division would allow executives to more easily consider separate ownership of the companies in the future. -Jodi Wetuski
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