Comcast spinoff Versant (VSNT) starts trading on Nasdaq

Versant Media Group, the portfolio of cable TV networks and digital assets spun off by Comcast, joined the small cohort of public media companies Monday as the industry reckons with ongoing disruption.

Versant began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VSNT,” opening at $45.17 per share.

The company’s so-called when-issued stock — a security that is expected to be issued and has been authorized to trade on a conditional basis to give investors an early chance to buy shares — initially began trading on Dec. 15 at $55 per share and ended trading Friday at $46.65 per share.

As of mid-morning Monday, Versant shares had fallen to roughly $40 per share, down 14% on the day.

The company’s market capitalization stands at roughly $6.5 billion with shares outstanding of 145.76 million based on the spinoff ratio. As part of the spinoff, Comcast shareholders received one share of Versant stock for every 25 shares of Comcast stock they owned.

“It’s been a year in the making,” said Mark Lazarus, Versant CEO, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday.

In November 2024, Comcast announced its intention to separate out the bulk of NBCUniversal’s cable TV networks, including MS Now (formerly MSNBC), CNBC, Golf Channel, USA, E!, Syfy and Oxygen, as well as digital properties Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine.

“As part of Comcast and NBCU we had other priorities as a company,” Lazarus said. “We made different decisions, because we had a different company and a different strategy. Now we’re bringing these [assets] into their own company, we’re going to be able to invest into them. We’ll invest organically … and hopefully the market is listening to what we’re saying.”

Lazarus said “vertical scale” is necessary to diversify the business away from a dependence on pay TV.

“While that’s still a big, profitable part for us, it’s not going to be the end game,” he said.

There are few traditional media companies that have gone public in recent years — namely because of the significant challenges the industry has been facing due to the shift away from the TV bundle and toward streaming.

In 2025, Newsmax, the conservative cable news network, went public on the New York Stock Exchange and quickly saw its shares soar from its $14 per share opening price. It has fallen precipitously since its debut.

Instead, the media sector has been marked by a rush for consolidation and fresh M&A deals. Paramount Skydance completed its merger last year, and since then CEO David Ellison has been acquisitive. Warner Bros. Discovery, itself formed following a merger in 2022, last year kicked off a sale process that resulted in a proposed deal with Netflix. Paramount has since made a hostile offer to WBD shareholders to upend the proposed transaction with Netflix.

The Versant spinoff was likewise a result of the…