Stories by Kenneth Li and Anjali Arora

Spinoffs Take a Wrong Turn

Almost every day, Nicholas Butterworth wipes his brow in relief. In March, the CEO of MTVi, the Viacom -owned unit of MTV Networks, filed papers to hit the stock market in a public offering. But then came April's market turmoil, and the company put the IPO on hold indefinitely. Now, that looks like a wise move. "Our goal is to maximize shareholder value," says Butterworth. "If an IPO helps us accomplish that, that's a strategy we will pursue. If not, then it's not the right strategy."