Comcast in deal talks with NBC Universal

By Los Angeles Times staff, | September 30, 2009

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Update: According to the Wall Street Journal's Media Memo, Comcast states that the report of an NBC-Universal deal is inaccurate. Comcast, in a statement, says the story is untrue: "While we do not normally comment on M&A rumors, the report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal is inaccurate." NBC Universal has no comment.

Cable giant Comcast Corp. is kicking the tires of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the situation.

The two companies have been talking for some time. Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator with almost 25 million subscribers, has been looking to increase its content holdings for several years and in NBC it would get its hands on not only a big broadcast network and movie studio, but also several large cable channels, including USA, Syfy, CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo.

NBC parent General Electric has often denied that it is interested in selling its entertainment holdings. Of course, if history is any guide, Comcast doesn't necessarily wait for an invitation before making a play. Five years ago it made an unsuccessful run to buy Walt Disney Co.

In a statement, Comcast denied a report from industry website The Wrap that it had a deal to buy NBC Universal, but it declined to elaborate on any other talks it may be having with NBC Universal. NBC declined to comment.

Speculation that GE may be looking to unload NBC Universal has heated up as of late in part because the French conglomerate Vivendi, which holds a 20% stake in the entertainment unit, may look to unload its interest before the end of the year. There have been questions raised as to whether GE -- which has first dibs -- could muster the $4 billion - $5 billion needed to buy back Vivendi's stake or whether another company such as cash-rich Time Warner or Comcast would step in and buy it.