Jan. 5 (UPI) — Versant Media, the independent media company spun off by Comcast, rang the Nasdaq opening bell on Friday for its introduction to the market.
Versant made its debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VSNT,” opening at $45.17 per share, CNBC reported.
The company’s when-issued stock began trading on Dec. 15 at $55 per share and ended trading Friday at $46.65 per share. Versant shares by mid-morning had fallen to about $40 per share, down 14% on the day.
Versant comprises several media holdings, including CNBC, MS Now, Rotten Tomatoes, the Gold Channel, Oxygen and SYFY.
“Today marks a defining moment as Versant becomes an independent, publicly traded media company,” said CEO Mark Lazarus in a statement. “As a standalone company, we enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model.”
The company’s market capitalization is at roughly $6.5 billion with shares outstanding of 145.76 million based on the spinoff ratio, CNBC reported. Comcast shareholders got one share of Versant stock for every 25 shares of Comcast stock they owned as part of the spinoff.
“This milestone reflects the financial strength and readiness of Versant as a standalone public company,” said Anand Kini, COO and CFO, in a statement. “With a strong balance sheet, substantial cash flow, and clear capital allocation framework, we are well positioned to execute with discipline to drive long-term value.”
Comcast announced the spinoff in November 2024. In August, it announced the name change of MSNBC to MS Now.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.