By Davit Kirakosyan
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp (NYSE:MSGE) shares rose more than 7% after-hours following the company’s announcement today, according to which its board of directors has authorized the company’s management to explore a potential spin-off that would create two companies - (1) a separately-traded public company comprised of its traditional live entertainment business and the MSG Networks business, and (2) the company’s MSG Sphere and Tao Group Hospitality businesses.
The live entertainment and media company is expected to include a diverse collection of venues (Madison Square Garden, The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and The Chicago Theatre), the company’s entertainment and sports bookings business, the Radio City Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular production, valuable long-term Arena License Agreements with the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, and MSG Networks.
After the proposed spin-off of the live entertainment and media company, MSG Entertainment is expected to include MSG Sphere and a majority interest in TAO Group Hospitality.