Spinoff Spotlight

Article Excerpt

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN CO. $323 (New York symbol MSG; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 19.1 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; No dividends paid; www.msg.com) is a sports and entertainment company that owns the New York Rangers hockey team, the New York Knicks basketball team and other sports franchises. It also holds several entertainment venues, including Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. The company is now exploring the possible spinoff of its sports franchises from its live entertainment group. Madison Square Garden believes that the split would add value for shareholders by making it easier for investors to evaluate both businesses. As separate companies, each could also focus on its own business strategies. The company’s entertainment business is in the middle of building state-of-the-art venues in London and Las Vegas. They’ll host concerts and performances. The sports business should attract a lot of investor interest, partly due to the rising valuation of the Knicks. That gain was spurred by multibillion-dollar deals for other…