On August 17, 2021, J2 Global changed its name and ticker symbol to Ziff Davis and ZD. Ziff Davis spun off Consensus (CCSI) effective after the market closed on October 7, 2021 in a transaction meant to be tax-free to ZD shareholders. Consensus began normal trading on October 8, 2021. Ziff Davis shareholders received 0.33333 shares of CCSI for each share of ZD owned.

The name change is best entered as a merger of J2 Global into Ziff Davis. This preserves historical prices for JCOM in the club valuations. The spinoff is a simple spinoff transaction in the accounting software. It is structured to be a non-taxable event for Ziff Davis shareholders.
The cost basis allocation information is calculated from the average of the opening and closing prices for CCSI and ZD on the first trading date after the spinoff. No IRS form 8937 was posted on the ZD website when these instructions were written.

NOTE:
The cost basis allocation is dependent on the prices used for both Ziff Davis and Consensus in the cost basis allocation calculations. In our experience brokers tend to use the prices found in the guidance companies post on their websites including IRS form 8937. If your broker does not use that guidance, the cost basis of the companies involved as recorded in your accounting records and in your broker’s records will not match. This is not cause for concern. This is just due to the inexact nature of the tax code in this regard. Partnership tax returns have specific areas to reconcile these usually small differences. ICLUBcentral tax printer software automatically fills in these adjustments in the normal operation of the software using the data imported from your accounting records and that you enter from your 1099.

The Merger Entry (for the name and ticker change)
Go to Transactions > Merger or Accounting > Securities > Record merger of securities depending on the version of the software being used. If you are unfamiliar with merger transactions you can get help at this URL:
http://www.iclub.com/support/kb/default.asp?page=normal_merger

Here is the information needed for J2 Global shareholders to complete the merger/name change.

• Date: 8/17/2021
• Old Security or Merging Company: J2 Global (JCOM)
• Price per share of old Security / : Use last JCOM valuation, if needed
• Cash received: leave blank
• New Security: Ziff Davis (ZD)
• New Security Price: 130.02 (Opening price on 8/17/2021)
• Shares received : 1.0 x (# of JCOM shares owned).
  • (Remember to include fractional shares.)
    For example, if you owned 100 JCOM shares, you should receive 1.0 x 100 = 100 ZD shares.

Save the transaction and the merger has been entered.

The Spinoff Entry
Go to Transactions > Spinoff or Accounting > Securities > Record spinoff of securities depending on the version of the software being used. If you are unfamiliar with spinoff transactions you can get help at this URL:
http://www.iclub.com/support/kb/default.asp?page=normal_spinoff

Here is the information you need to complete the spinoff.

• Date: 10/8/2021
• Select Parent Security (or Parent Company) : Ziff Davis(ZD)
• Remaining Basis Percentage: 85.87
• Cash received: See your broker statement for cash-in-lieu received
• Spinoff Security (or Symbol of New Company) : Consensus (CCSI)
• Shares received : 0.33333 x (# of ZD shares owned) (Remember to include fractional shares.)
  • For example, if you owned 100 ZD shares, you should receive 0.33333 x 100 = 33.333 CCSI shares.
• Price Per Share : 58.44 (Average of opening and closing prices on 10/8/2021)

Save the transaction and the spinoff has been entered.