US conglomerate General Electric is to sell its 49 per cent stake in broadcaster NBC to cable giant Comcast for 16.7 billion dollars, the companies announced Tuesday.
Comcast, which is the largest cable company in the US, bought a
majority stake in the television and movie company in January 2010.
NBC airs hits such as Law & Order and The Office, and owns cable
channels like Bravo E! and MSNBC, the Hollywood movie studio
Universal Studios and the Universal Studios theme parks.
Under the terms of the deal, Comcast will also buy NBC's
headquarters building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York for 1.4
billion dollars.
"Our decision to acquire GE's ownership is driven by our sense of
optimism for the future prospects of NBC Universal and our desire to
capture future value that we hope to create for our shareholders,"
said Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive of Comcast.
"This transaction allows us to significantly increase the cash we
plan to return to shareholders in 2013, to approximately 18 billion
dollars, and to continue to invest in our industrial business," GE
CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.
