Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. received approval of the plans to spin off its live entertainment business, which is expected to be completed this month. The spin-off was approved by its board of directors at the end of March.
“With today’s announcement, we are one step closer toward our goal of creating two distinct companies, each well positioned to generate long-term value for our shareholders,” executive chairman and CEO James L. Dolan said in a statement.
The new arrangement will bundle the Sphere, MSG Networks and Tao Group Hospitality businesses to be comprised under the current parent company which will be renamed Sphere Entertainment Co.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp will become the new business, comprised of a diverse collection of existing performance venues, entertainment and sports bookings business, and the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes production. The venues involved include New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre and The Chicago Theatre.
Sphere Entertainment Co. is going to own around 33% of the outstanding shares of the new live entertainment company after the tax-free spin-off is completed.
The company is also known for building a new state-of-the-art venue in Las Vegas, MSG Sphere at The Venetian which has a seating capacity of 17,500 and costs $2.2 billion. It is scheduled to open in September.
MSG and Dolan have been drawing major headline attention in recent months over its use of controversial facial recognition systems in the enforcement of its controversial ban of lawyers representing clients who are involved in lawsuits against MSG or any associated entities. That ban has drawn significant criticism from New York political figures, but MSG and Dolan have remained defiant and adamant that they have every right to ban anyone they choose for any reason from attending shows in their venues.
Details about the stock transaction for current MSGE shareholders or those interested in purchasing shares in the company in its new MSGE format or the Sphere company (trading as SHPR) are available here.
