As planned, Belo Corporation split in two after Wall Street trading closed on Friday. The television company, still called Belo Corporation, is now separate from the newspaper operation, now called A.H. Belo. Shareholders of the old Belo still have shares in the new Belo, plus one share of A.H. Belo for every five shares of the previous company that they owned.
"Completing the spin-off marks the beginning of an exciting new period in Belo Corporation’s history as it becomes one of the largest pure-play television companies in the country. As a stand-alone television company, with a strong management team and a best-in-class collection of television assets, Belo is ideally positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities. We would especially like to acknowledge our employees for their continued hard work and dedication throughout this process," said President and CEO Dunia Shive.
The new Belo says has approximately 3,200 employees, 20 TV stations and annual revenues of approximately $775 million. It also owns or operates six cable news stations and manages one television station through an LMA.
In “when issued” trading on the NYSE, the new Belo closed Friday at $13.10 and the new A.H. Belo at $16.40. If you add together the value of one share of the new Belo and one fifth of a share of A.H. Belo, you come up with $16.38, which is two cents more than Friday’s closing price of $16.36 for the old Belo.
