The influence of mergers and acquisitions on the innovation activity of companies represents a much-examined area of research. So far, only little consideration has been given to the case of a “de-merger”, i.e. the deliberate separation of companies or the spin-off of parts of the company. Above all, such transactions are motivated by a (stronger) focus on the “core competences” of the selling company. De-mergers should hence increase the innovative capacity. The project is therefore intended to look into the influence of a de-merger on the innovative capacity of the selling companies using data on innovation behaviour and M&A transaction activities.