Discovery Holding Co., run by billionaire John Malone, plans to sell some assets of its subsidiary Ascent Media Corp. to AccentHealth Holdings LLC, another Malone enterprise.
Ascent, a provider of video and audio post-production services for film and television, agreed to sell the interests of Ascent Media CANS LLC, Douglas County-based Discovery Holding said Tuesday in a regulatory filing.
Discovery Holding plans to spin off all of Ascent to its shareholders through a dividend, the first step in taking cable-TV programmer Discovery Communications public. If the sale to AccentHealth closes before the Ascent separation, then cash from the sale will be included in the assets to be spun off, Discovery Holding said.
AccentHealth, a unit of Discovery Holding, operates a TV network for viewing in medical waiting rooms. The transaction should close by Sept. 15, the day before Discovery Holding’s annual meeting. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Class A shares of Discovery Holding fell 9 cents to $19.43 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have declined 23 percent this year.
