Arlington-based Graham Holdings to spin off subsidiary

The Arlington-based Graham Holdings Co. plans to spin off its Cable ONE Inc. subsidiary  as an independent, publicly traded company.

Cable ONE is a Phoenix-based cable-service provider serving 730,000 small-city subscribers in 19 Midwestern, Western and Southern states. It offers cable television, Internet and home phone services.
Founded in 1986, Cable ONE is now the 10th largest cable company in the U.S.

Graham Holdings intends to complete the deal next year.

“After a careful review of strategic options, we believe that a separation of Graham Holdings and Cable ONE will create value for the companies and our shareholders,” Donald E. Graham, the chairman of Graham Holdings' board of directors, said in a statement. “The separation will position Graham Holdings to pursue continued growth opportunities, while enabling Cable ONE to focus entirely on its video, Internet and voice services and to attract a more natural stockholder base.”

The transaction will be structured as a tax-free, spin-off of Cable ONE to Graham Holdings stockholders.

Completion of the transaction depends on meeting a number of conditions. They include completion of the review process by the Securities and Exchange Commission, other applicable regulatory approvals and the final approval of transaction terms by Graham Holdings’  board of directors.

Graham Holdings is a education and media company whose principal operations currently include educational services, television broadcasting, cable systems, and online, print and local TV news.
The company formerly was known as The Washington Post Co. It changed its name and moved its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Arlington after selling the newspaper to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, last year for $250 million.