&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-947967278&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/947967278/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;698&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
&l;strong&g;Deal Overview&l;/strong&g;
On June 27, 2018, The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSG, $303.29, Market Capitalization $7.2 billion), announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company&a;rsquo;s management to explore a possible spin-off of its sports businesses into a separately traded public company. The proposed spin-off would be structured as a tax-free transaction to all MSG shareholders. Upon completion of the contemplated separation, record holders of MSG common stock would receive a pro-rata distribution, expected to be equivalent, in aggregate, to an approximately two-thirds economic interest in the pure-play sports company.
&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1486&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Price-Performance-1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;228&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g; Price Performance
&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1490&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Spin-Off-Details-1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;280&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g; Spin-Off Details
&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1491&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Top-5-Shareholders-1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;188&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g; Top 5 Shareholders
The remaining common stock, expected to be equivalent to an approximately one-third economic interest in the sports company, would be retained by MSG (live entertainment company). The Company has not set a timetable for completion of this spin-off transaction. The completion of the transaction would be subject to various conditions, including certain league approvals, a private letter ruling from the IRS, receipt of a tax opinion from counsel and final MSG Board approval. J.P. Morgan and PJT Partners are serving as financial advisors and Sullivan &a;amp; Cromwell LLP is serving as legal advisor. James L. Dolan is expected to be the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of both companies.
Post the contemplated spin-off, Madison Square Garden (live entertainment business) will include its diverse iconic venues including Madison Square Garden, The Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre; the Forum in Inglewood, The Chicago Theatre and Boston&a;rsquo;s Wang Theatre. It will also include MSG Bookings, MSG Productions, majority interests in TAO Group, Boston Calling Events, Strategic entertainment joint ventures - Azoff-MSG Entertainment and Tribeca Enterprises and approximately one-third economic interest in the pure-play sports company; and approximately $1 billion in cash on hand. Along with the NY Knicks NBA and Rangers NHL sports franchises, the pure play sports company would hold The New York Liberty professional WNBA sports franchise (currently on sale); esports franchise Knicks Gaming; majority interest in Counter Logic Gaming and a professional sports training center in Greenburgh, NY.
&l;a href=&q;https://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Madison-Square-Garden.png&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1485&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Madison-Square-Garden.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;182&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g;&l;/a&g; Madison Square Garden
&l;strong&g;&l;!--nextpage--&g;Deal Rationale&l;/strong&g;
&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1488&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Key-Data-1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;452&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g; Key Data
Madison Square Garden possesses a collection of unique, world class sports and entertainment assets which are currently undervalued by investors. Hence, MSG shares trade at a substantial discount to the intrinsic valuation of its assets. Hence the proposed spin-off is aimed to bridge this valuation mismatch and create shareholder value for MSG shareholders over a long term. The market embraced this announcement with the stock advancing by approximately 14%, a day after the announcement. The proposed separation of the sports and entertainment businesses in two different companies would enable shareholders to evaluate each company&a;rsquo;s assets and future potential. Similarly both companies on a standalone basis would be able to pursue their own distinct business growth strategies nd capital allocation policy. MSG (live entertainment company) is a leader in live entertainment with a growing portfolio of assets that will include state-of-the-art music and entertainment focused venues - MSG Sphere. The live entertainment company is planning to open its first MSG Sphere in Las Vegas by end of 2020, followed by a second MSG Sphere in London, approximately one year later. The live entertainment company will hold approximately one-third economic interest in the sports company, which would provide an opportunity to raise capital in the future. The pure-play sports company performance will be driven by the Knicks and Rangers franchises.
&l;strong&g;Company Description:&a;nbsp;&l;/strong&g;&l;strong&g;The Madison Square Garden Company (Parent)&l;/strong&g;
The Madison Square Garden Company&a;nbsp; is a world leader in live sports and entertainment experiences. The Company was incorporated on March 4, 2015 as an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of MSG Networks Inc. (&a;ldquo;MSG Networks&a;rdquo;), formerly known as The Madison Square Garden Company. The Company was spun-off from MSG Networks on September 30, 2015. The Company reported revenue of $1.3 billion in the year ended June 30, 2017. The Company classifies its business interests into two reportable segments: MSG Entertainment and MSG Sports. MSG Entertainment includes live entertainment events such as concerts, family shows, performing arts and special events, which are presented or hosted in the Company&a;rsquo;s diverse collection of venues along with live offerings through TAO Group Holdings LLC (&a;ldquo;TAO Group&a;rdquo;) and Boston Calling Events LLC (&a;ldquo;BCE&a;rdquo;). TAO Group is a hospitality group with globally-recognized entertainment dining and nightlife brands: TAO, Marquee, Lavo, Avenue, The Stanton Social, Beauty &a;amp; Essex and Vandal. BCE produces New England&a;rsquo;s premier Boston Calling Music Festival. MSG Entertainment also includes the Company&a;rsquo;s original production - the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes (the &a;ldquo;Christmas Spectacular&a;rdquo;). In November 2017, the Company acquired a 100% controlling interest in Obscura Digital (&a;ldquo;Obscura&a;rdquo;), a creative studio, which is now part of the MSG Entertainment segment. The Company conducts a significant portion of its operations at venues that it either owns or operates under long term leases. The Company owns the Madison Square Garden Arena (&a;ldquo;The Garden&a;rdquo;) and The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Forum in Inglewood, CA and The Chicago Theatre in Chicago. In addition, the Company leases Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre in New York City, and has a booking agreement with respect to the Wang Theatre in Boston. Additionally, TAO Group operates various restaurants, nightlife and hospitality venues under long-term leases and management contracts in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Australia and Singapore.
&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-1489&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/joecornell/files/2018/06/Organization-Structure.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;386&q; data-width=&q;640&q;&g; Organization Structure
&l;strong&g;MSG Sports (Spin-Off)&l;/strong&g;
The pure-play sports company is expected to include all existing businesses within MSG Sports segment. MSG Sports includes the Company&a;rsquo;s professional sports franchises: the New York Knicks (the &a;ldquo;Knicks&a;rdquo;) of the National Basketball Association (the &a;ldquo;NBA&a;rdquo;), the New York Rangers (the &a;ldquo;Rangers&a;rdquo;) of the National Hockey League (the &a;ldquo;NHL&a;rdquo;), the New York Liberty (the&a;ldquo;Liberty&a;rdquo;) of the Women&a;rsquo;s National Basketball Association (the &a;ldquo;WNBA&a;rdquo;), the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (the &a;ldquo;AHL&a;rdquo;) and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Gatorade League (the &a;ldquo;NBAGL&a;rdquo;). The MSG Sports segment also includes other live sporting events, including professional boxing, college basketball, college hockey , professional bull riding, mixed martial arts, esports, tennis and college wrestling, all of which the Company promotes, produces and/or presents. In July 2017, the Company acquired a controlling interest in Counter Logic Gaming (&a;ldquo;CLG&a;rdquo;), a premier North American esports organization, which is now part of the MSG Sports segment.
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;
&a;nbsp;&l;/p&g;
Read More First Published on Jul 20, 2018 05:05 pm
Private Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in INVESCO EXCHANG/S&P 500 LOW VOLATIL (NYSEARCA:SPLV) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 99,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,667,000. 
MiMedx Group Inc (NASDAQ:MDXG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.50. 
Wedbush upgraded shares of AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning. The brokerage currently has $25.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for AMC Entertainment’s FY2018 earnings at $0.17 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.51 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $0.66 EPS.