Madison Square Garden shares fall after split from Cablevision

MSG shares fall after split from Cablevision

NEW YORK — Investors gave a lackluster reception to Madison Square Garden Inc. on its first day of regular trading Wednesday following its split from Cablevision Systems Corp..

Madison Square Garden stock was down 41 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $17.81 in midday trading.

Madison Square Garden split from subscription TV operator Cablevision after delivering uneven profits over the years.

It includes the namesake arena, basketball’s New York Knicks and hockey’s New York Rangers, regional sports channels and Radio City Music Hall among other assets.

Cablevision distributed shares of Madison Square Garden on Tuesday to its shareholders on record as of Jan. 25. Each class A stockholder got one share of the new company for every four class A Cablevision shares they held. Each class B stockholder got one share for every four Class B Cablevision shares.

In a statement, Madison Square Garden Chairman James L. Dolan, a member of Cablevision’s founding family, said “This enables MSG to freely pursue its business plan while providing shareholders with the benefit of being able to more clearly evaluate the company’s assets and future potential.”