News Corp.(NWS ADR Quote - Cramer on NWS ADR - Stock Picks) said late Tuesday that it would restructure its worldwide satellite units into one entity, named Sky Global Networks, and would sell a stake of that unit to the public by the end of the year.
The new company will trade on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SGN," according to documents filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. News Corp. hopes to raise as much as $5 billion from the IPO.
SGN will include the company's various stakes in
British Sky Broadcasting(BSY Quote - Cramer on BSY - Stock Picks),
TV Guide(TVGIA Quote - Cramer on TVGIA - Stock Picks) and
NDS Group(NNDS Quote - Cramer on NNDS - Stock Picks), among others.
Investment banks
Merrill Lynch & Co. and
Goldman, Sachs & Co. will lead the offering, News Corp. said.
The announcement of the new company had been
expected. News Corp. did not provide any further details regarding Sky Global, including other possible investors in the new company.
Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks),
Yahoo!(YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks) and
Liberty Media (LMG.A Quote - Cramer on LMG.A - Stock Picks) have been some of the big names mentioned as possible partners in Sky Global.
Another potential investor could be
Vivendi Universal, the new company being formed by the
merger between
Vivendi,
Canal Plus and
Seagram(VO Quote - Cramer on VO - Stock Picks). At a press conference in New York announcing that deal, Vivendi's chairman and chief executive, Jean-Marie Messier, who will run Vivendi Universal, said Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp., is interested in an investment in Sky Global by Vivendi Universal. Vivendi already owns a 25% stake in BSkyB.
Justin Dini
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