Tribune Company, As Agent of and Successor By Merger to the Former the Times Mirror Company, Itself and its Consolidated Subsidiaries - Page 20

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          conclude that Times Mirror’s control over the cash in the LLC was           
          not part of the consideration received in the Bender transaction            
          because it was not intended by Times Mirror or Reed to be a                 
          “separate asset”.                                                           
               Respondent argues that the Bender transaction did not                  
          qualify under section 368(a)(1)(B) because TMD did not exchange             
          its Bender stock solely for voting stock.  In addition,                     
          respondent argues that petitioner has belatedly changed its                 
          theory and should be precluded from doing so.                               
               In form, at the conclusion of the Bender transaction, TMD              
          was the holder of MB Parent common stock and no longer owned                
          Bender common stock.  Determination of whether the MB Parent                
          common stock had a value of $1.1 billion or, in the alternative,            
          whether the sole consideration exchanged for the Bender common              
          stock was the MB Parent common stock requires a factual analysis            
          of the totality of the Bender transaction.  Because the same                
          facts lead us to our conclusions on both theories, we do not need           
          to decide whether petitioner is too late in asserting its section           
          368(a)(1)(B) argument.                                                      
          Factual Analysis of the Bender Transaction                                  
               Not surprisingly, the parties differ significantly in their            
          descriptions of the Bender transaction.  While paraphrasing                 
          portions of the record, the parties cannot resist characterizing            
          events in a manner consistent with their respective positions.              






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