Shares of NCR Corp. were tumbling 23.87% in morning trading Friday after the company said it plans to split into two publicly traded businesses, with one focusing on digital commerce and the other oriented around ATMs.
The late Thursday announcement signaled that management wasn't able to proceed with a sale of the company.
"Throughout the strategic review process, we received material interest in a whole company sale of NCR, as well as interest in various individual segments of our business," Executive Chairman Frank Martire said in a release.
"In recent days, it has become increasingly clear to the board that, given the state of current financing markets, we cannot deliver a whole company transaction that reflects an appropriate and acceptable value for NCR to our shareholders."
RBC Capital Markets analyst Daniel Perlin said in a note to clients Thursday evening that the announcement was "not the outcome we were hoping for" as his read of the situation suggests "financing in the high-yield market did not support a price point high enough to receive shareholder approval."
NCR shares have lost 26% over the past 12 months as the S&P 500 has declined by half that amount.