Nielsen Holdings (NLSN) announced on Thursday the completion of its strategic review and its plan to spin-off the company's Global Connect business, creating two independent, publicly traded companies—the Global Media business and the Global Connect business.

Nielsen Holdings also reported third-quarter earnings of 51 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 42 cents by 21.43%. This is an 88.89 % increase over earnings of 27 cents per share from the same period last year.

The company reported quarterly sales of $1.616 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.61 billion by 0.37%. This is a 1% increase over sales of $1.6 billion in the same period last year.

Nielsen shares were trading up 2.5% at $20.60 in Thursday's pre-market session. The stock has a 52-week high of $28.50 and a 52-week low of $19.86.