Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has advised the Dolan family, the controlling stockholders of The Madison Square Garden Company, in the tax-free spinoff of Madison Square Garden’s live sports and entertainment businesses.

Madison Square Garden announced in March its intention to spin off to its stockholders its live sports and entertainment businesses from its media businesses in a tax-free transaction. The spun-off company began trading on the NYSE on October 1, 2015. As a result of the transactions, there are now two separate publicly traded companies, The Madison Square Company (MSG) and MSG Networks Inc. (MSGN).

Madison Square Garden’s board of directors believes separating MSG’s live sports and entertainment businesses from its media business will enhance the long-term value-creation potential of both businesses. While the companies will continue to benefit from commercial arrangements between them, the separation will provide each company with increased strategic flexibility to pursue its own distinctive business plan and allow each to have a capital structure and capital return policy that is appropriate for its business. Following completion of the spinoff, MSG shareholders now own shares in both companies and have the ability to evaluate each company's current business and future prospects in making investment decisions.

The Debevoise team is led by partner Richard D. Bohm and includes partners Peter A. Furci and Elizabeth Pagel Serebransky and associate David P. Iozzi.