UPDATE: Cablevision Keep Door Open On $3 Bln Special Dividend
By David B. Wilkerson
CHICAGO (Dow Jones) -- Cablevision Systems Corp.'s board of directors has given management the green light to prepare for implementation of a $3 billion special dividend, the company said in a Tuesday regulatory filing.
Cablevision (CVC) had apparently scrapped the dividend in December, saying at the time that it had found "certain technical covenant violations" under a debt agreement carried by subsidiary CSC Holdings Inc.
The company also said it was considering what impact other debt violations could have on prior financial statements.
In its filing Tuesday, Cablevision indicated that the board is still conducting an "ongoing analysis" of the proposed dividend.
Founder Charles Dolan and his son James, the Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable- television operator's chief executive, recommended payment of the dividend in October, when they decided to withdraw their proposal to take the company private.
Now that the dividend could be back on the agenda, analysts will again wonder if Cablevision would consider selling certain assets to fund it. In the past, there has been speculation that the company might part with one or more of its cable networks, which include American Movie Classics, the Independent Film Channel and We: Women's Entertainment.
During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call late last month, James Dolan reaffirmed the company's commitment to its cable networks.
"We think it's important for us to be in the programming business, as well as the distribution business," he told analysts, adding: "We continue to explore new ways of doing that and we have had a lot of success with networks by IFC and WE and AMC. So we have no plans at this time to change that mix. But I would never rule anything out."
Cablevision's shares were down less than 1% at $26.57 in afternoon trading, . |
