Cablevision, ITT sign definitive agreement for sale of 50 percent stake in Madison Square Garden.WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 1997--Cablevision Systems Corporation (ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise) A relational DBMS from Sybase that runs on Windows NT/2000, Linux and a variety of Unix platforms. ASE is a comprehensive and robust data management product with a long history dating back to the late 1980s. :CVC) and ITT Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :ITT) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for ITT to sell its 50 percent interest in the Madison Square Garden Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference (MSG) sports and entertainment properties to Cablevision. The companies announced an agreement in principle last month. The transaction is expected to be completed in June of this year. Cablevision has received a commitment letter from The Chase Manhattan Bank The Chase Manhattan Bank, now part of JPMorgan Chase, was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. The bank is headquartered in New York City. for funding of the purchase. The closing is subject to approvals by the National Basketball Association National Basketball Association (NBA) U.S. professional basketball league. It was formed in 1949 by the merger of two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded 1937) and the Basketball Association of America (1946). and the National Hockey League National Hockey League (NHL) Organization of professional North American ice-hockey teams. The league was formed in 1917 by five Canadian teams; the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins, was added in 1924. It today consists of 30 teams in two conferences and six divisions. , and other customary closing conditions. Under the definitive agreement, Cablevision, through its Rainbow Media Holdings Inc. subsidiary, will pay ITT $500 million in cash at closing. ITT also has a "put" option to require Cablevision or MSG to purchase half of ITT's continuing interest in MSG for $75 million on the first anniversary of the closing and the other half of this continuing interest for an additional $75 million on the second anniversary of the closing or, if the first option is not exercised, the entire interest for $150 million. In addition, ITT has agreed to contribute and ITT-owned aircraft which MSG has used for the Knicks and Rangers. Cablevision has agreed to pay the purchase price for the aircraft by adding an additional $19 million to each of the put options. The agreement also includes a "call" option where Cablevision could require ITT to sell its remaining stake in MSG on the third anniversary of the closing at fair market value, or a minimum of $188 million. Cablevision Systems Corporation is the nation's sixth largest operator of cable television systems, serving 2.8 million customers in 19 states with major operations in Boston, Cleveland and the New York metropolitan area New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and the third most populous in the world, after Tokyo and Mexico City. , where Cablevision has 1.7 million customers. Its subsidiary, Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., manages entertainment, sports and news programming services. CONTACT: Charlie Schueler Cablevision 516/393-1399 |
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