Database and information services provider Bell & Howell Co., Skokie, IL, has plans to split itself into two companies and cut as many as 340 positions, or 5% of its 6,800 workforce.
The company said in a statement that the move will enable it to focus on the strengths of each business and get access to more capital.
Bell & Howell, once a pioneer in the movie camera industry which now specializes in information management, said it would spin off its education and publishing businesses to shareholders and would float a minority stake in the yet-to-be-named company through an initial public offering.
The remaining units, mail and messaging technologies and the imaging business, would operate under the Bell & Howell name and keep the same ticker symbol.
Bell & Howell, started in 1907, was once synonymous with movie cameras and projectors and even won three Oscar awards for technical contributions to the film industry. It sold the camera business in the 1970s to focus on mail sorting and other operations.
Bell & Howell chairman James Roemer said in a statement that the newly formed company would account for about $360 million in annual revenues, while the remaining Bell & Howell businesses would generate about $600 million.
The company said it expected to record a $30 million after-tax restructuring charge in 1999 as part of the planned spin-off. The spin-off, which is contingent on obtaining a favorable tax ruling, was expected to be completed before the end of the year, Bell & Howell said.
Roemer will serve as president and CEO of the new education and publishing company. He will continue to run Bell & Howell until the spin-off is completed.
Nils Johansson will serve as chairman of the new Bell & Howell, while Howard Cohen was appointed president and CEO.
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