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Technology Stocks : VIAB (Viacom Class B shares) formerly CBS -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jay Judell who wrote (3011)	12/10/1998 9:33:00 AM
From: m thompson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4613

holy smokes! the ipo was yesterday and today it will be on nyse! Yahoo! News Entertainment Headlines Thursday December 10 8:17 AM ET CBS earns $2.87 billion through Infinity IPO By Richard Morgan NEW YORK (Variety) - Solid investor demand Wednesday prompted CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS - news) to increase its initial public offering of stock in Infinity Broadcasting Corp., its radio and outdoor advertising spinoff, by 14% to raise $2.87 billion. It marks the richest in media history, and the second major entertainment IPO in the past few weeks, coming on the heels of News Corp.'s $2.8 billion spinoff of a stake in Fox Entertainment Group last month, which was also well-received. CBS sold 40 million shares of Infinity stock at $20.50 apiece -- precisely in the middle of the $19 to $22 range estimated in the prospectus released Nov. 12. Merrill Lynch, the lead of 23 underwriters, priced the stock high enough for CBS to raise $100 million more than was earned in last month's wildly oversubscribed IPO for Fox Entertainment Group. ''It shows that investors still love radio and outdoor,'' said a Wall Streeter close to the offering. As further evidence, the investment banker cited Wednesday's announcement by Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:CCU - news), another dominant player in both radio and outdoor, that it will raise about $750 million in a secondary offering of 15 million shares. CBS will continue to own about 83% of Infinity, which, with 161 radio stations and one of the country's largest collection of billboards, represents the sum of its out-of-home properties. Infinity, home to radio show hosts Howard Stern and Don Imus, will keep almost $250 million of the funds raised in the IPO. The estimated $2.5 billion remaining after underwriting fees will revert to CBS and be used to pay off debt. Observers are hailing the IPO as a master stroke by CBS president, chief operating officer and CEO-designate Mel Karmazin which ''puts a spotlight on how undervalued certain CBS assets are,'' according to one analyst. Karmazin, who joined CBS in 1996 after selling his radio empire to the company whose focus was then-predominately television-based, is a leading proponent of the cross-selling and cross-promoting opportunities afforded by owning a clutch of radio stations and a mix of billboards in the same market. Stock in such companies as Clear Channel, which offers investors that precise cross-selling and cross-promoting mix, have been outpacing that of CBS in recent years. Since committing to the spinoff a month or so ago, CBS has experienced a 25% bump in its stock price. Infinity stock will begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to its Infinity stake, CBS will continue to consist of CBS Television Network, CBS Television Stations (which owns 14 outlets), and CBS Cable, owner of TNN, CMT and a regional sports business. CBS stock fell 3% Wednesday to close at $30 a share. Reuters/Variety