Cablevision Systems "unexpectedly refused to hand" the
ITT Corp. one half of SportsChannel, instead paying ITT with
$168.75M in cash as partial payment to help equalize their
joint $1B purchase of MSG two years ago, according to
Richard Sandomir in the N.Y. TIMES. ITT "had expected
about" $86M in cash and half of SportsChannel and
Cablevision's maneuver met with an "immediate objection"
from ITT, and puts "on hold" ITT's "vision" of having
SportsChannel come under the control of the Garden's MSG
Network. ITT spokesperson James Gallagher: "We have a
legal, unilateral, irrevocable right to take 50 percent of
SportsChannel" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/19).
SUITORS: Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan added that
Cablevision holds the first option to acquire ITT's stake in
the MSG if it comes up for sale. Dolan: "If they're going
to sell, they should know we'll be there for the other
half." ITT's Gallagher "emphatically" denied that
Cablevision owned such an option (N.Y. TIMES, 2/19). The
N.Y. POST's Jon Elsen reports Walt Disney, Westinghouse and
Fox have approached ITT about acquiring its stake in MSG. He
adds General Electric is "pondering" a bid and Loews Corp.
also is a "possible buyer" (N.Y. POST, 2/19).
