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In the wake of market pressure to restructure, American Cyanamid spun off its poorly performing Chemicals Unit into a new publicly traded corporation, Cytec Industries. In addition to weak operations, Cytec inherited the bulk of Cyanamid's environmental and post-retirement health-care liabilities. The market's assessment of Cytec's prospects was grim. Cytec's managers, all long-time Cyanamid employees, were enthusiastic. They believed they could implement changes in Cytec's strategy and corporate culture that would bring about dramatic performance improvement. The spin-off gave Cytec the opportunity to change management style and adopt practices that were more effective and more suitable to its businesses. This case explores the organizational and managerial implications of spin-off transactions.