(Image source: The Timken Company) The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)’s board of directors voted yesterday to spin off steel business from its anti-friction bearings and power transmission business. The steel business will become a standalone publicly traded company with estimated annual revenue of $1.7 billion. While the anti-friction bearings and power transmission will still operate under the Timken umbrella with estimated annual revenue of $3.4 billion. The spinoff was driven largely by activist investors who believed that more value would be created for shareholders as a result separating the company. In current trading, the stock is up 3% on the news.