The flurry over a potential Comcast takeover of GE’s NBC Universal is picking up steam with more details. No official announcement has been made, but here’s what’s being reported so far:
From CNBC, which was the first to unearth the most recent details:
General Electricand Comcast are in talks about a deal in which GE would spin off its NBC Universal unit into a new company that would be merged with the content assets of Comcast, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The deal under consideration would allow Comcast to take 51% economic control of NBC Universal through its contributions of content assets such as the “E” channel, the Golf Channel and a group of regional sports networks and the contribution of as much as $7 billion in cash to the new company.
From Broadcasting & Cable:
Comcast’s only cash outlay would be in the $4 billion to $6 billion range, according to one person in the midst of talks. CNBC had reported that Comcast would kick-in as much as $7 billion. That point appears to be one of many still under negotiation. One executive said General Electric would also contribute $12 billion in debt to the spun-off entity.
The LA Times got ahold of an internal memo NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker sent out to calm undoubtedly concerned employees:
Vivendi has been a superb owner of NBC Universal, along with GE, for more than five years. They have not yet made us aware of any final decisions about their future with us; should they choose to exit, there are a number of possible things that could happen.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/10\/01\/more-nbcomcast-reports-spin-offs-and-control\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_53ec765a3886853dd6d9f190afd48f2a","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}