Shares in the London stock market-listed, Irish-headquartered business surged, rising more than 15pc by midday to 5730 pence each as the market reacted to the news.
The proposed changes will see the group focus purely on the energy sector, which currently accounts for around 75pc of the business.
The plan is to return a share from the proceeds of the disposals to investors as well as to invest in the future energy business. Shareholders will be consulted on their preferences in terms of the structure of a return of capital but it is too early to say how the money from sales will be split, chief executive Donal Murphy said.
The use of proceeds will include a focus on maintaining a strong, investment-grade balance sheet, DCC said.
“There will be a big payday for shareholders,” Mr Murphy said.
The plans will likely see the healthcare division sold to a single buyer, though it could be split, Mr Murphy told the Irish Independent.
That sale is expected to complete in 2025.
He said the health sector has seen strong buyer interest and valuations, one reason DCC has not made recent acquisitions in the area.
The health division is made up of a mix of businesses, including a patient healthcare business, that service the medical sector in Ireland.
The healthcare arm also comprises businesses including DCC Vital, supplying medical products and devices to hospitals and GP surgeries across the UK, Ireland, and Europe, and DCC Health and Beauty, developing and manufacturing nutritional supplements and beauty products for brands including Estee Lauder and Vitabiotics.
DCC Healthcare represented 15pc of the group’s operating profit for the half-year ended
The sale of DCC Technology will be slower. DCC will review its strategic options for the technology arm, following completion of what is described as a “value enhancing operational improvement programme”, within the next 24 months. That includes consolidation of its North American businesses. The technology division could be sold as a single business or split on product lines.
In technology, the business is a leading specialist distributor of audio-visual, consumer technology and appliances through its Pro Tech, Info Tech and Life Tech brands. It is a key distributor for Apple, Asus and Microsoft in the UK.
DCC said the wider strategic shift its the most important development in the almost 50-year history of the company, which has long operated as a conglomerate spanning a changing mix of businesses and sectors rather than a pure player in any one industry.
Streamlining the business will create a large-scale standalone energy business in a sector where there are M&A opportunities in high growth, high margin and low carbon areas, Mr Murphy said.
DCC has already completed five transactions worth £180m this year in the clean energy space. DCC owns the Flogas brand in Ireland and its mobility division supplies retail fuels and forecourts and motorway EV charging through international brands including Certa and Esso, as well as providing fleet services with fuel cards.
The energy arm’s focus is on the transition from fossil fuels to low and zero carbon supplies, including provision of products and increasingly services needed to manage the complex energy needs of business customers.
While the pace of the transition to lower carbon energy is likely to be ‘lumpy’, the direction of travel is clear, Mr Murphy said.
“In the energy sector we are building a unique, multi-energy, sustainable business focused on supporting our customers with their energy transition. Our strategy will deliver strong profit growth, high returns and a significant reduction in our customers’ carbon emissions,” he said.