NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — On Thursday, The Madison Square Garden Company announced that it has formally started the process to spin-off its sports business by filing a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to MSG, the proposed separation will be structured as a tax-free spin-off to all MSG shareholders, with the Dolan family maintaining majority voting control of both companies following the split.
After the sports business is spun out, it will include:
- The New York Knicks professional NBA franchise and its development team, the Westchester Knicks;
- The New York Rangers professional NHL franchise and its development team, the Hartford Wolf Pack;
- The New York Liberty professional WNBA franchise, for which the MSG is currently exploring a sale;
- Knicks Gaming, the official NBA 2K esports franchise of the New York Knicks, and a majority interest in Counter Logic Gaming, a North American esports organization; and
- A professional sports team Training Center in Greenburgh, NY.
The live entertainment company would include:
- MSG’s venue portfolio, including Madison Square Garden, The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; the Forum in Inglewood, CA; The
- Chicago Theatre; and the Wang Theatre in Boston;
- MSG’s booking business, which includes the company bookings of live sporting events such as college basketball and professional boxing;
- Majority interests in the TAO hospitality Group, and festival and event promoter Boston Calling;
- Properties including the Radio City Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular;
- Strategic entertainment-related joint ventures, including Azoff-MSG Entertainment and Tribeca Enterprises.
The live entertainment company would also continue to move forward with plans to create state-of-the-art venues – called MSG Sphere. The first MSG Sphere is expected to open in Las Vegas in fiscal 2021, followed by a second MSG Sphere in London approximately one year later.
While the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals, approvals from various sports leagues and the company’s board of directors, MSG anticipates that the transaction will close in early 2019, the company said.
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