Hewlett-Packard announced in early 1999 the spin-off of its Agilent Technologies unit to focus on its main business of computers and printers. HP retained a controlling interest until mid-2000, when it spun off the rest of its shares in Agilent to HP shareholders as a tax-free transaction. Discuss the reasons why HP may have chosen a staged transaction rather than an outright divestiture or spin-off of the business.