SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 11-K (Mark One) [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from ____ to ____ Commission File Number 1-8519 ------------------------------ CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN ------------------------------ CINCINNATI BELL INC. 201 East Fourth Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Report of Independent Accountants Financial Statements: Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits as of December 31, 1996 and 1995 Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits for the Year Ended December 31, 1996 Notes to Financial Statements Schedules: Item 27(a) - Schedule of Assets Held for Investment Purposes as of December 31, 1996 Item 27(d) - Schedule of Reportable Transactions for the Year Ended December 31, 1996 Other schedules are omitted because the information required is contained in the financial statements. -2- [LETTERHEAD] REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS To the Employees' Benefit Committee of Cincinnati Bell Inc. We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for benefits of the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Retirement Savings Plan as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the related statement of changes in net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 1996. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for benefits of the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Retirement Savings Plan as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the changes in net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 1996, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Our audits were performed for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The supplemental schedules listed in the accompanying index on page 2 are presented for the purpose of additional analysis and are not a required part of the basic financial statements but is supplementary information required by the Department of Labor's Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The fund information in the statement of net assets available for benefits and the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits is presented for purposes of additional analysis rather than to present the net assets available for benefits and changes in net assets available for benefits of each fund. The supplemental schedules and fund information have been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audits of the basic financial statements and, in our opinion, are fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole. /s/ Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. Cincinnati, Ohio May 16, 1997 -3- CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 Thousands of Dollars ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Equity Equity Capital Cincinnati Bell Spectrum Balanced Income Index Appreciation ASSETS Stable Value Fund Income Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund ------------------ ------------ --------- ---------- --------- ------------ Investments (cost of $68,226): Temporary Cash Investments - - - - - - Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares - - Mutual funds $8,911 $3,801 $1,803 $14,263 $2,793 $3,144 Contracts with insurance companies 2,529 - - - - - Loans to participants - - - - - - Interest and Dividends Receivable - - - - - - Other receivables 99 - - - - - ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- ----------- Total Investments 11,539 3,801 1,803 14,263 2,793 3,144 ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- ----------- LIABILITIES Administrative fees payable and other 2 - - - - - ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- -------- Net Assets Available for Benefits $ 11,537 $3,801 $1,803 $14,263 $2,793 $3,144 ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- --------- -------- Thousands of Dollars ----------------------------------- ------------------------------ International New America Cincinnati Bell Inc. Loan ASSETS Stock Fund Growth Fund Shares Fund Fund Total -------------- ------------ ------------------ ------ -------- Investments (cost of $68,226): Temporary Cash Investments - - $5,118 - $5,118 Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares 97,437 - 97,437 97,437 Mutual funds $4,370 $6,071 - - 45,156 Contracts with insurance companies - - - - 2,529 Loans to participants - - - 1,798 1,798 Interest and Dividends Receivable - - 17 - 17 Other receivables - - - - 99 ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- Total Investments 101,807 6,071 102,572 1,798 152,154 ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- LIABILITIES Administrative fees payable and other 2 - - - - - - 327 - 329 ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- Net Assets Available for Benefits $4,370 $6,071 $102,245 $1,798 $151,825 ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- ------------ ------------ ---------- --------- --------- - ------------------------------------------- See Notes to Financial Statements -4- CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1995 Thousands of Dollars ----------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Equity Equity Capital Cincinnati Bell Spectrum Balanced Income Index Appreciation ASSETS Stable Value Fund Income Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund ------------------ ------------ --------- -------- -------- ------------- Investments (cost of $66,820): Temporary Cash Investments - - - - - - Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares - - Mutual funds $7,695 $4,155 $1,541 $11,668 $1,580 $2,178 Contracts with insurance companies 4,046 - - - - - Loans to participants - - - - - - Interest and Dividends Receivable - - - - - - Other receivables 58 - - - - - ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- Total Investments 11,799 4,155 1,541 11,668 1,580 2,178 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- LIABILITIES Administrative fees payable and other - - - - - - ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- Net Assets Available for Benefits $11,799 $4,155 $1,541 $11,668 $1,580 $2,178 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- Thousands of Dollars ---------------------------- ---------------------------- International New America Cincinnati Bell Inc. Loan ASSETS Stock Fund Growth Fund Shares Fund Fund Total ------------ ------------- -------------------- ---------- --------- Investments (cost of $66,820): Temporary Cash Investments - - $5,161 - $5,161 Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares 73,843 - 73,843 Mutual funds $3,192 $3,452 - - 28,817 Contracts with insurance companies - - - - 4,046 Loans to participants - - - $ 1,491 1,491 Interest and Dividends Receivable - - 445 - 445 Other receivables - - 490 - 548 ----------- -------- ----------- ---------- --------- Total Investments 3,192 3,452 79,939 1,491 120,995 ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- LIABILITIES Administrative fees payable and other - - 11 11 - ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- Net Assets Available for Benefits $3,192 $3,452 79,928 $1,480 $ 88,074 ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- - ----------------------------------------- See Notes to Financial Statements -5- CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 Thousands of Dollars -------------------------------- ---------------------------- Equity Equity Capital Cincinnati Bell Spectrum Balanced Income Index Appreciation Stable Value Fund Income Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund ------------------ ----------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- Net Assets Available for Benefits $11,799 $4,155 $1,541 $11,668 $1,580 $2,178 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- December 31, 1995 Employee Allotments 362 252 192 695 268 319 Participating Company contributions - - - - - - Transfers from other Cincinnati Bell Inc. Plans 104 28 50 57 43 1 Transfer of participants' balances -- Net 3,135 228 258 2,020 827 570 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- Total allotments, contributions and transfers 3,601 508 500 2,772 1,138 890 Investment Income: Dividends on Cincinnati Bell shares - - - - - - Other dividends - 284 74 895 85 293 Interest 639 - - - - - Net appreciation/(depreciation) of investments - (24) 144 1,454 348 117 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- Total additions 4,240 768 718 5,121 1,571 1,300 Less: Distributions to participants 4,502 1,122 456 2,526 358 334 Administrative and other expenses paid by the Plan - - - - - - ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- Total Deductions 4,502 1,122 456 2,526 358 334 Net Assets Available for Benefits $11,537 $3,801 $1,803 $14,263 $2,793 $3,144 ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- December 31, 1996 Thousands of Dollars -------------------------------- ---------------------------- International New America Cincinnati Bell Inc. Loan Stock Fund Growth Fund Shares Fund Fund Total ------------- ------------ -------------------- ------ ---------- Net Assets Available for Benefits December 31, 1995 $3,192 $3,452 $79,928 $1,491 $120,984 ------------- ------------ -------------------- ------ ---------- Employee Allotments 525 602 750 - 3,963 Participating Company contributions - - 1,643 - 1,643 Transfers from other Cincinnati Bell Inc. Plans 28 70 362 - 743 Transfer of participants' balances -- Net 729 1,719 (9,731) 245 0 ------------- ------------ -------------------- ------ ---------- Total allotments, contributions and transfers 1,282 2,391 (6,976) 245 6,351 Investment Income: Dividends on Cincinnati Bell shares - - 1,111 - 1,111 Other dividends 117 503 - - 2,251 Interest - - 231 144 1,014 Net appreciation/(depreciation) of investments 442 295 48,024 - 50,800 ------------- ----------- -------------------- ------ ---------- Total additions 1,841 3,189 42,390 389 61,527 Less: Distributions to participants Administrative and other expenses paid by 663 570 20,034 82 30,647 the Plan - - 39 - 39 ------------- ----------- -------------------- ------ ---------- Total Deductions 663 570 20,073 82 30,686 Net Assets Available for Benefits December 31, 1996 $4,370 $6,071 $102,245 $1,798 $151,825 ------------- ----------- -------------------- ------ ---------- ------------- ----------- -------------------- ------ ---------- - -------------------------------------- See Section 10 Financial Statements -6- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (1) PLAN DESCRIPTION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES: a. General: The Cincinnati Bell Inc. Retirement Savings Plan (the "Plan") is available to all eligible salaried employees at Cincinnati Bell Inc. (CBI), Cincinnati Bell Telephone (CBT), Cincinnati Bell Long Distance Inc. (CBLD), Cincinnati Bell Supply Co. (CBS), and Cincinnati Bell Telecommunications Services Inc. (CBTS). The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Act of 1974 (ERISA). Participants should refer to the Plan document for a complete description of the Plan. b. Employee Contributions: Participants in the Plan may contribute up to 16% of their compensation to the Plan in before-tax dollars. Participants' before-tax contributions could not exceed $9500 and $9240 for calendar years 1996 and 1995 respectively. Participants may also contribute to the Plan on an after-tax basis. Total before-tax and after-tax contributions may not exceed 16% of a participant's compensation. The participants specify the manner in which their own funds shall be invested in the available funds. Participants may elect to change the manner in which contributions are allocated and may also transfer contributions from one fund to another. c. Employer Contributions: The Company is required to make monthly matching contributions of the lesser of 66 2/3% of the contributions of the participants (50% in the case of CBS and CBLD) or 4% of the participant's covered compensation. All employer contributions are allocated to the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund. If a participant has less than five years of vesting service the Company's contributions are subject to forfeiture. If a participant has at least five years of vesting service, he/she is fully vested in the Company's matching contributions to their account. In addition, a participant becomes fully vested at age 65 or at the participant's death. d. Distributions to Participants: Distributions are made to participants, or their beneficiary, upon termination of employment, attainment of age 70-1/2, death, disability, or financial hardship. e. Participant Loans: Loans are available to participants from their individual accounts. For each participant, the number of loans outstanding is limited to two, and no more than two loans are allowed to originate during a single Plan year. The minimum amount of any loan is $1,000, while the maximum amount cannot exceed the lesser of 50% of the vested value of the participant's Plan account or $50,000, reduced by any outstanding loan balances. The interest rate charged is determined by the Plan Committee. The loan rates are stated at the prime rate + 1% as of 1st day of the quarter at the time the loan is taken. The minimum term of the loan is 6 months and the maximum term is five years, unless the loan is used to acquire the participant's principal residence, in which case the term of the loan may not exceed fifteen years. f. Temporary Cash Investments: Temporary cash investments include all cash balances and highly liquid investments with maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase. Temporary cash investments are placed in short-term investment funds with the Trustee. g. Investments: There are nine investment funds available to plan participants. These include: Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund, Spectrum Income Fund, Balanced Fund, Equity Income Fund, Equity Index Fund, Capital Appreciation Fund, International Stock Fund, New America Growth Fund and the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund. All of the above funds are administered, trusteed and invested by T. Rowe Price or a related subsidiary. All funds except for the Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund and the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund are quoted in shares. These shares represent the Net Asset Value of shares in T. Rowe Price mutual funds. The Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund and the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund are quoted in units. These units represent a proportionate interest in two investment funds in which both the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Retirement Savings Plan and Cincinnati Bell Inc. Savings and Security Plan participate. The unit values for both the Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund and the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund were initiated at a value of 1.0000 on July 1, 1992. The Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund will maintain a unit value of 1.000 at all times and any income, gains or losses, contributions or withdrawals would result in more or less units being credited to an account. The Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund unit value will fluctuate with the performance of the underlying investments which consists primarily of Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares and a small amount of temporary investments The values of investments on December 31, 1996 and 1995 are determined as follows: Cincinnati Bell shares in the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund on the basis of the last published sales prices on December 31, 1996 and 1995 on the New York Stock Exchange; shares in the following T. Rowe Price mutual funds: Spectrum Income Fund, Balanced Fund, Equity Income Fund, Equity Index Fund, Capital Appreciation Fund, International Stock Fund and the New America Growth Fund on the basis of the last published net asset value on December 31, 1996 and 1995; contracts with insurance companies in the Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund at principal plus accrued earnings on December 31, 1996 and 1995; loans to participants in the Loan Fund at the principal owed by the participants on December 31, 1996 and 1995 The Plan presents in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits the net appreciation (depreciation) in the value of its investments which consists of the realized gains or losses and the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of those investments. h. Administrative Expenses: Administrative expenses are paid by the Plan. i. Forfeiture of Rights: Units in the Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund forfeited by employees under the Plan are valued as of the end of the same day as the event causing the forfeiture and are applied as credits reducing subsequent matching Participating Company contributions. j. Use of Estimates: The preparation of Financial Statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reporting amounts of Net Assets Available for Benefits as of the date of the Plan's financial statements and the reported Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. -7- (2) TERMINATION: While CBI has not expressed any intent to terminate the Plan, it reserves the right to terminate the Plan at any time. In the event of such termination, all participants' accounts would become 100% vested and subject to distribution under the provisions of the Plan. (3) The interest of an employee in each type of investment of the Plan on December 31, 1996 and December 31, 1995 is represented by units or shares. The number and value of units or shares were: DECEMBER 31, 1996 DECEMBER 31, 1995 ------------------------------------ -------------------------------------- Number of Value per Number of Value per units/shares unit/share units/shares unit/share Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund 11,536,583 units 1.0000 11,799,429 units 1.0000 Spectrum Income Fund 339,359 shares 11.2000 369,650 shares 11.2400 Balanced Fund 124,486 shares 14.4800 116,545 shares 13.2200 Equity Income Fund 632,797 shares 22.5400 583,098 shares 20.0100 Equity Index Fund 137,331 shares 20.3400 91,789 shares 17.2100 Capital Appreciation Fund 217,263 shares 14.4700 159,332 shares 13.6700 International Stock Fund 316,640 shares 13.8000 261,020 shares 12.2300 New America Growth Fund 158,210 shares 38.3700 98,886 shares 34.9100 Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund 26,818,455 units 3.8100 36,539,950 units 2.1874 At December 31, 1996 the number of participants with balances by investment fund was: Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund 366 Spectrum Income Fund 259 Balanced Fund 179 Equity Income Fund 523 Equity Index Fund 239 Capital Appreciation Fund 261 International Stock Fund 368 New America Growth Fund 421 Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund 927 (4) TAX STATUS: The Internal Revenue Service has issued a determination that the Plan meets the requirements of Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") and is exempt from Federal income taxes under Section 501(a) of the Code. (5) PLAN AMENDMENTS: The following plan amendments became effective January 1, 1996: * A change was implemented that provides that "Covered Compensation" will include awards under long and short term incentive plans for senior managers. * A change was implemented to permit rollovers from other qualified plans by Covered Employees who have not met the service requirements for participation in the Plan. In the past an employee could not rollover monies from other plans until they met the eligibility requirements of the Plan. * Matching contributions (50% of the basic and 6% allotment) for participants who are employed by CBLD will be permitted under the Plan. * A change was implemented to clarify that only nonforfeitable amounts attributable to participating Company contributions can ever be withdrawn. In the past, in service loans were permitted to be taken against nonvested Company matching contributions. Also a change was made to reflect the fact that three year cliff vesting will apply to employees of CBLD. * An amendment to provide for treatment of funds for missing participants was implemented. The amendment provides that if a participant cannot be located within six months, after investigation deemed appropriate by the Committee the amount is forfeited. The amendment also allows for the restoral of such amount if the participant, or beneficiary, makes a claim. * A change was implemented to permit immediate court ordered distribution of an alternate payee's interest even if the participant would not otherwise be permitted to obtain an immediate distribution. In addition the following plan amendments were approved in 1996: * Effective April 1, 1996, the Plan was changed to include CBTS as a Participating Company in the Plan. * Effective retroactive to January 1, 1991, the Plan was amended to state specific details regarding the computation of "Vesting Services" rather than refer to the provision of the Cincinnati Bell Management Pension Plan related to vesting. * The plan was amended to change the corrective steps which must be taken if pre-tax allotments paid to the Trust on behalf of Highly Compensated Participants exceed certain limitations for any Plan Year to make clear that the corrective contributions are treated as pre-tax contributions. -8- CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN ITEM 27A - SCHEDULE OF ASSETS HELD FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 Thousands of Dollars ------------ ---------- Number of Shares or Principal Name of Issuer and Title of Issue Amount Cost Value --------------------------------- ----------- ------ -------- CINCINNATI BELL INC. SHARES FUND Temporary cash investments 5,118 $ 5,118 $ 5,118 Cincinnati Bell Inc. shares* 1,581,128 shs. 18,949 97,437 Interest receivable 17 17 17 ---- -------- Total Cincinnati Bell Inc. Shares Fund 24,084 102,572 T. ROWE PRICE SPECTRUM INCOME FUND 339,359 shs $3,698 $3,801 T. ROWE PRICE BALANCED FUND 124,486 shs. 1,556 1,803 T. ROWE PRICE EQUITY INCOME FUND * 632,797 shs. 11,219 14,263 T. ROWE PRICE EQUITY INDEX FUND 137,331 shs. 2,264 2,793 T. ROWE PRICE CAPITAL APPRECIATION FUND 217,263 shs. 2,943 3,144 T. ROWE PRICE INTERNATIONAL STOCK FUND 316,640 shs. 3,853 4,370 T. ROWE PRICE NEW AMERICA GROWTH FUND 158,211 shs. 5,272 6,071 CINCINNATI BELL STABLE VALUE FUND T. Rowe Price Stable Value Common Trust Fund * 8,911 8,911 8,911 Contract with Confederation Life Insurance Company + 224 224 224 Contracts with Hartford Life Insurance Company + 1,801 1,801 1,801 Contracts with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company + 401 401 401 Contracts with Prudential Insurance Company of America + 103 103 103 Other receivables 99 99 ---- ---- Total Cincinnati Bell Stable Value Fund 11,539 11,539 LOAN FUND Loans to Participants 1,798 1,798 1,798 ------ -------- Total Loan Fund 1,798 1,798 ------ -------- GRAND TOTAL $ 68,226 $ 152,154 -------- --------- -------- --------- - ------------------------------ * Investment represents 5% or more of the Net Assets Available for Benefits. + The contracts with these insurance companies guarantee the repayment of principal and the crediting of interest. During 1996, the composite effective annual interest rate earned under these contracts was approximately 6.48%. The rate at which interest will be credited in future years may be either higher or lower. -9- CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN ITEM 27D - SCHEDULE OF REPORTABLE TRANSACTIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 Current Value on Identity of Purchase Selling Cost of Date of Net Gain Party Involved Description of Asset Price Price Asset Transactions or (Loss) - --------------------------- -------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ -------------- ----------- Cincinnati Bell Shares Fund Company Stock 2,839,095 2,839,095 Cincinnati Bell Shares Fund Company Stock 26,275,679 9,374,920 26,275,679 16,900,759 Cincinnati Bell Shares Fund Company Stock 2,844,941 2,844,941 Cincinnati Bell Shares Fund Company Stock 6,280,432 1,877,079 6,280,432 4,403,353 Stable Value Fund GIC 5,508,240 5,508,240 5,508,240 Stable Value Fund GIC 5,771,086 5,771,086 5,771,086 0 New America Growth Fund Mutual Fund 3,305,382 3,305,382 3,305,382 New America Growth Fund Mutual Fund 981,487 827,592 981,487 153,895 Equity Income Fund Mutual Fund 3,838,487 3,838,487 3,838,487 Equity Income Fund Mutual Fund 2,696,887 2,196,662 2,696,887 500,225 -10- SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the members of the Employees' Benefit Committee have duly caused this annual report to be signed by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. CINCINNATI BELL INC. RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN By /s/ Pamela B. Wolfe --------------------------------- Pamela B. Wolfe Secretary Employees' Benefit Committee June 16, 1997 -11-