Asset stripping refers to the process of selling assets of an acquired company, or breaking up the company itself and selling the various parts separately. This often occurs after an acquisition, with the proceeds being used to pay off loans taken out before the acquisition (debt reduction).

During asset stripping, the company is valued to determine whether selling individual parts would be more profitable than selling the company as a whole. The sale of the parts is usually done in stages: some parts are sold soon after the acquisition, while other parts are sold at a later date.