TCI's new plan to restructure gets a mixed response
NEW YORK -- Wall Street gave a mixed response yesterday to Tele-Communications Inc.'s scaled-down plan to restructure its expansive holdings.</br></br>In trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, TCI Class A common closed at $22.50, up 50 cents, or 2.3%, on volume of over five million shares, more than double its average daily share volume of 2.4 million.</br></br>TCI, the nation's largest cable operator, told analysts and investors yesterday that it will press ahead with plans to distribute a new class of TCI common stock to track the performance of its programming unit, Liberty Media.</br></br>The cable company also will offer to the public as much as 20% of its international business unit, TCI International, through an initial public offering of shares. Analysts and investors yesterday generally favored the strategy, but many reserved judgment until they get a clearer idea of how it is executed in the market.</br></br>Separately, cable company Comcast Corp. said it and TCI have received more than 90% of the shares needed to complete their acquisition of home-shopping network QVC Inc., an accord valued at $1.42 billion. Completion of that transaction is expected to be announced today.