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Moody's to go public
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June 27, 2000: 4:18 p.m. ET
Dun & Bradstreet to split company in two, take its Moody's Investors public
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Dun & Bradstreet Corp. filed Tuesday to take its Moody's Investors Service Inc. public, a move that will split the business information provider into two companies.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Murray Hill, N.J.-based Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (DNB: Research, Estimates) said it will sell shares in its Moody's Investors Services Inc., a global crediting, research and risk analysis firm. Moody's Investors will then become Moody's Corp. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under a stock symbol yet to be determined.
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNB.
 The company expects to complete the split by the end of the third quarter of this year.
"The separation of Dun & Bradstreet into New D&B and Moody's will allow each company to pursue focused strategies appropriate for its specific business," said Clifford Alexander, Dun & Bradstreet Corp.'s chairman and chief executive.
Following the sale, Alexander will serve as non-executive chairman of Moody's. Allan Loren, chief executive and chairman of Dun & Bradstreet operating company, will serve as chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Moody's Investors Service President John Rutherfurd will become president and CEO of Moody's Corp.
Analyst Chitra Sundaram, of Goldman Sachs & Co., said the planned split is a way to maximize value for shareholders.
"Smaller is better," Sundaram said. "If you divide out company into two discrete pieces then you get to focus on the services."
The separation will benefit Dun & Bradstreet's operating unit, which provides business-to-business credit, marketing, and purchasing information that is used by companies to evaluate business opportunities. The operating unit has built a database of over 58 million businesses internationally.
"This is certainly an asset that is valuable," Sundaram said. "They will be able to exploit that database in new ways given that the Web is new marketplace."
Once the split is completed, Moody's expects to pay quarterly dividends of between 4 cents and 6 cents per share. Dunn & Bradstreet does not expect to pay dividends; D&B plans to use future earnings to finance operations and expand its Internet and e-commerce related businesses.
Both companies expect to start share repurchase programs following the distribution to offset the dilutive effect of shares issued under each company's employee benefit plans. Moody's plans to make more share repurchases as way to return free cash flow to shareholders.
In afternoon trading Tuesday, Dun & Bradstreet fell 1-5/16 to 28-11/16. 
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Dun & Bradstreet Corp.
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