AT&T Corp. said Thursday that it sold most of its Cablevision Systems
Corp. stock for about $1.3 billion, or $36.05 per share.
AT&T said it sold about 19.2 million Cablevision shares and, through a
trust, 23.4 million shares of a mandatorily exchangeable trust security that
will be exchangeable into up to 23.4 million shares of Cablevision common stock
in three years.
The sale represents the bulk of the company's Cablevision holdings. AT&T
said in the statement that if underwriter overallotments were exercised, it
would sell the remainder of the stock: 2.9 million shares and 3.5 million shares
of exchangeable securities. That sale could generate another $233 million.
AT&T got the Cablevision stock when it bought Tele-Communications Inc. in
1999. TCI had exchanged cable systems in the New York area for the stock.
AT&T, looking to pare debt, first said it would sell the stake in
April.
A spokeswoman for the company would not disclose who bought the shares.
AT&T's stake represented about 30 percent of Cablevision's outstanding
stock, but it held minimal voting rights. Most voting rights remain with
Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan.
Bear Stearns & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney led
the offering.
