SPLIT CITY DANCE

MSG to spin off sports

James Dolan has dipped into his old playbook again, calling for yet another company spinoff.

On Thursday, Madison Square Garden Co. said in a filing it is moving ahead with plans to spin off its sports franchises, which include the Knicks and Rangers, into a separate, publicly traded company.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2019, MSG said in a securities filing, adding that its executive chairman and chief executive, James Dolan, will hold the same title at both companies.

The Dolan family would also maintain voting control of both companies.

MSG said its remaining half will be composed of a live entertainment business with venues including Madison Square Garden and the adjacent Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre.

The live entertainment unit would also hold onto the Radio City Rockettes and a majority stake in Tao Group, a New York-based restaurant and nightclub empire. It would retain a one-third interest in the spun-off sports company as well as $1 billion in cash.

The split will give its businesses greater “strategic flexibility to pursue their own distinctive business plan,” MSG said in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

MSG first revealed the plan in June, provoking speculation that the company could explore the sale of some of its teams. At the time, MSG said it had no plans on selling the Knicks or Rangers. The company reiterated that on Thursday.

MSG, meanwhile, said Thursday it is exploring a sale for its WNBA team, the New York Liberty.

It’s a trusted strategy for Dolan. In 2010, the New York media mogul split MSG from Cablevision, which he also owned at the time.

Five years later, the assets were split again into MSG, which comprised its teams and venues, and MSG television networks. That business included regional sports channels MSG and MSG-Plus. In 2016, the Dolan family sold Cablevision to Altice.

MSG shares on Thursday were up 0.2 percent, to $309.47.