Madison Square Garden Entertainment (NYSE:MSGE) announced Thursday it’s exploring a spinoff of its live entertainment business, including its iconic New York City arena, and MSG Networks.
The spinoff would consist of the company’s performance venues – including Madison Square Garden, the Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and the Chicago Theatre – as well as its entertainment and sports bookings, the Radio City Rockettes and the “Christmas Spectacular” production, the company said.
The new company would also control the Garden’s licensing agreements with the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, along with its regional sports and entertainment networks.
It would leave MSG Entertainment with Tao Group Hospitality, which owns restaurants and nightclubs around the world, and the MSG Sphere business, which encompasses “multi-sensory” performance venues, the first of which is currently under construction in Las Vegas.
For fiscal 2022, the Company reported revenues of $1.7 billion as compared to revenues of $814.2 million in the prior year.
In addition, the Company had an operating loss of $102.7 million and adjusted operating income of $133.6 million in fiscal 2022, compared to an operating loss of $188.2 million and adjusted operating income of $40.2 million in the prior year.
During the latest quarter, MSGE reported revenues of $453.5 million as compared to $260.6 million in revenues in the prior year quarter. In addition, the Company had an operating loss of $56.8 million and adjusted operating income of $0.7 million in the fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, compared to an operating loss of $44.0 million and adjusted operating income of $2.5 million in the prior year quarter.
Shares of MSGE galloped $6.09, or 9.7%, to $68.79 in early trading Friday.
