As I predicted earlier, no one wanted to touch TheStreet.com’s independent reseach unit (Independent Research Group) with a barge pole, and that was hampering the sale and future growth of the company. Now, the company has announced the formal closure of its wholly owned subsidiary, which operates its securities research and brokerage segment.

According to the release, IRG had net revenue in 2004 of $4.5 million, which represented 12.7% of TheStreet.com’s total net revenue for the year. Expenses for the year totaled $10.3 million, which represented 27.3% of TSCM’s total expense. It currently employs approximately 40 people, which I presume would be losing their jobs…

Also according to the release, the company “remain focused on directing their energies towards..[its]...already profitable electronic publishing business to continue the building of a profitable total enterprise that delivers shareholder value.”

What’s the next step? A sale...I speculated in April that CBS Digital might be a buyer…