Belo to Spin-Off Newspaper Business

Television broadcaster and publisher Belo Corp announced Monday the company will spin off its newspaper division into a separate publicly traded company named A.H. Belo Corporation. The spin-off will occur in a tax-free distribution of A.H Belo shares to current Belo stockholders and is expected to go through in the first quarter of 2008. A.H. Belo will own The Dallas Morning News, the 9th largest daily newspaper in the country. Present CEO of Belo and future CEO of A.H. Belo Robert Decherd said, "This action should provide shareholders with greater insight into each business, while making each business more nimble and better able to allocate capital to compete and grow within its respective industry." Belo shares traded 5.0% higher to $18.22 in pre-market trading Monday.

Sources: Press Release, Reuters
Commentary: Belo: Newspaper & TV Split Would Unlock Value - Barron's • Declining Print Ad Revenues Take Toll on Newspaper Earnings
Stocks/ETFs to watch: BLC. Competitors: GCI, TRB. ETFs: PBS.

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