Why Shares of Autoliv Jumped 12% Today

Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE: ALV) surged on Thursday. The Stockholm-based supplier of automotive safety systems said that it's considering a proposal to split into two companies: one focused on traditional passive safety systems like airbags and the other on emerging technologies important to self-driving cars.

Investors seem to like the idea. As of noon EDT, Autoliv's shares were trading at $127.07, up 12.2% from Wednesday's closing price.

Autoliv is a major auto industry supplier focused on safety systems. Its passive safety division is the world's largest maker of airbags and seatbelts, and its electronics unit is an important player in the fast-growing market for advanced driver-assist systems. The latter includes hardware and software that will be important to autonomous vehicles, a market that is expected to boom over the next decade.

Source: Fool.com