CNBC reports that the deal between GE and Comcast over a majority stake in NBC Universal is complete, and will likely be announced officially Thursday morning. This comes from what CNBC attributes as a “source close to the merger”.
According to the report, GE and Comcast are waiting on Vivendi to sign an agreement, selling its 20% stake, which is worth about $5.8 billion. CNBC’s David Faber outlines the deal:
The deal would make NBCU 51 percent owned by Comcast and 49 percent owned by GE.
Currently, GE owns 80 percent of NBCU, which the two companies have valued at about $30 billion.
The deal includes the spinoff of NBC Universal and $9 billion in debt. It also includes the merger of Comcast’s content assets and a $6 billion cash contribution.
Bloomberg’s Todd Shields and Christopher Stern suggest that the deal would be heavily scrutinized by the FCC, and either the FTC or the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
As Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable notes, rumors have been circulating about a deal for a couple months at least. It looks like rumors will become fact this week, if the unnamed source’s story holds water.
Related Articles:
> Comcast Adds HBO To Online Programming
