Tribune Media Company announced a special dividend of approximately $500 million that will be paid from existing cash on Tuesday.
The company’s board of directors authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $5.77 per share on the company’s Class A common stock and Class B common stock. In addition, holders of the company’s warrants will receive a cash payment equal to the amount of the dividend paid per share for each share of common stock such warrants are exercisable into.
The dividend is payable on Feb. 3 to stockholders and warrant holders of record at the close of business on Jan. 13.
In late December, Tribune Media agreed to sell its Digital and Data business operations — Gracenote’s video, music and sports — to Nielsen for $560 million in cash.
The Peter Liguori-led company will retain its ownership of business-to-consumer websites, Covers.com and ProSportsDaily.com. This deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.
“We are extremely proud to have grown our Digital and Data business into a vibrant global enterprise, with talented and creative people who deliver outstanding service to blue-chip clients around the world,” said Liguori, Tribune Media’s president and chief executive officer. “From a strategic standpoint, however, we are pleased to be streamlining our company so that we can focus even more intently on seizing future opportunities for our local television and entertainment business.”
Moelis & Company and Guggenheim Securities acted as financial advisors and Debevoise & Plimpton acted as legal advisor to Tribune Media Company for the Gracenote deal.