Dun & Bradstreet completes spinoffs.MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1996-- Leaner, better-focused corporation to concentrate on improving three core businesses and developing new products and services The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :DNB DNB Dictionary of National Biography DNB Drum N Bass (music) DNB De Nederlandsche Bank DNB Dun & Bradstreet (stock symbol) DNB Den Norske Bank DNB David Nelson Band ) announced today that it has completed the final steps in its restructuring plan, including the spinoffs of Cognizant and ACNielsen Corp. The slimmed-down Dun & Bradstreet Corp. now consists of three leading franchises that are among America's greatest brand names -- Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), the operating company operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. , formerly known as Dun & Bradstreet Information Services See Information Systems. ; Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service A leading global credit rating, research and risk analysis firm. Moody's Investors Service A leading firm engaged in credit rating, risk analysis, and research of fixed-income securities and their issuers. and Reuben H. Donnelley. Volney Taylor becomes chairman and chief executive officer of the "new" Dun & Bradstreet Corp., effective immediately. In announcing the news, Taylor said, "With a 155-year history, The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is one of the oldest and most respected brand names in the business world. As a result of the spinoffs, we are now a leaner and better focused corporation, with the ability to concentrate on improving the results of our three leading franchises. We plan to leverage our databases, technology and global presence to create growth for the new corporation and its shareholders." Taylor also noted that D&B, the operating unit operating unit A type of operating company that engages in transactions with outsiders and that is owned by another business. For example, in 1995 the stockholders of Capital Cities/ABC approved a $19 billion merger with the Walt Disney Company, whereupon , is expanding its leadership in credit, marketing, purchasing and receivables management services through new analytical based services, technologies and emerging markets, such as electronic commerce. He said that Moody's is leveraging its leadership position in evaluating the credit risk of long- and short-term debt Short-term debt Debt obligations, recorded as current liabilities, requiring payment within the year. securities by expanding the types of debt instruments on which it issues ratings and by producing online financial research and reference services. And, said Taylor, Donnelley is leveraging its preeminence in Yellow Page advertising in the United States to develop new business partnerships that will benefit from telecommunications regulatory reform and technological change, including Internet advertising. Dun & Bradstreet was founded in 1841 by Lewis Tappan. Originally known as the Mercantile Agency, and later R.G. Dun & Co., it was the first to evaluate companies' creditworthiness Creditworthiness The condition in which the risk of default on a debt obligation by that entity is deemed low. Creditworthiness Eligibility of an individual or firm to borrow money. based on "sound information gathered methodically by men of strict principle" -- four of whom were future U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland and William B. McKinley. In 1933, R.G. Dun & Co. merged with the Bradstreet Co. to create Dun & Bradstreet. Throughout its 155-year history, Dun & Bradstreet has been among the first companies to adopt new technologies and business innovations. D&B ordered the first commercial typewriter and built and maintains one of the world's largest private computer networks. The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. announced its restructuring in Jan. 1996. In Oct. 1996, the corporation's board of directors declared a special stock dividend: for every share of Dun & Bradstreet Corp. stock, shareholders receive one common share of Cognizant Corp. stock, and for every three shares of Dun & Bradstreet Corp. stock, shareholders receive one common share of ACNielsen stock. Cognizant and ACNielsen will trade on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbols CZT CZT Cadmium Zinc Telluride CZT Chirp Z-Transform CZT Community Z Tools CZT Concentric Zone Theory CZT Central Zone Time and ART, respectively. Dun & Bradstreet Corp. stock continues to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNB. The Dun & Bradstreet Corp., headquartered in Murray Hill, employs 16,000 people in 40 countries, and is expected to have 1996 annual revenue exceeding $2 billion. -0- Editor's note: The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. press releases are also available on the Internet via the corporation's World Wide Web home page (http://www.dnbcorp.com). CONTACT: The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation David M. Monfried 908/665-5377 monfriedd@mail.dnb.com |
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