Monday, February 11, 2008

Dallas-based Belo completes spin-off of newspaper businesses

By Pegasus News wire

Belo Corp. has completed the spin-off of its newspaper businesses and related assets into a publicly-traded company called A. H. Belo Corporation. The spin-off was implemented through a special tax-free stock dividend to shareholders on all outstanding shares of Belo Corp. common stock. Shares in A. H. Belo will begin regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 11, 2008, under the ticker symbol "AHC." The new company will have approximately 17.6 million Series A shares and approximately 2.9 million Series B shares outstanding.

"Completing the spin-off marks the beginning of an exciting new period in Belo Corp.'s history as it becomes one of the largest pure-play television companies in the country," said Dunia A. Shive, president and Chief Executive Officer. "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."

Belo has approximately 3,200 employees and annual revenues of approximately $775 million. The Company owns and operates 20 television stations, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV affiliates, reaching 14.3 percent of U.S. television households, as well as the stations' associated Web sites. Nearly all Belo stations rank first or second in their local market based on audience reach. Belo owns stations in seven of the top 25 markets in the nation, with six stations located in the fast-growing, top-14 markets of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Seattle/Tacoma and Phoenix.

Belo additionally owns or operates six cable news stations -- Northwest Cable News (NWCN), Texas Cable News (TXCN), Arizona NewsChannel, NewsWatch on Channel 15 (New Orleans), 24/7 NewsChannel (Boise) and Local News on Cable (Hampton/Norfolk) -- and manages one television station through a local marketing agreement.

The majority of Belo's management team remains intact following the transaction. Dennis Williamson will continue as executive vice president/Chief Financial Officer; Guy Kerr continues as executive vice president/Law and Government and Secretary; and Marian Spitzberg continues as senior vice president/Human Resources. Joining the Management Committee is Peter Diaz, executive vice president/Television Operations who has more than 30 years media experience. Shive and James M. Moroney III will join the Belo Board of Directors joining Robert W. Decherd (non-executive Chairman), Henry P. Becton, Jr. (Lead Director), Judith L. Craven, M.D., M.P.H., Dealey D. Herndon, Wayne R. Sanders, William T. Solomon, M. Anne Szostak and Lloyd D. Ward.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor and Locke Lord Bissell & Liddel, Baker Botts, Jones Day and Wiley Rein served as legal advisors to Belo Corp. and A. H. Belo Corporation for the spin-off transaction.

Source: Belo

See more stories in:

• The Media > Print Media