General Electric said it’s selling the remaining 49% stake it holds in NBC Universal to Comcast for $16.7 billion, and also is selling related real estate for $1.4 billion.
The deal, which is expected to close at the end of the first quarter, will be funded with $11.4 billion of cash on hand, $4 billion of subsidiary senior unsecured notes to be issued to GE, $2 billion of borrowings under Comcast and/or bank credit facilities, and $725 million of subsidiary preferred stock to be issued to GE.
In a statement, chairman and CEO of Comcast Brian L. Roberts said, “Our decision to acquire GE’s ownership is driven by our sense of optimism for the future prospects of NBCUniversal and our desire to capture future value that we hope to create for our shareholders.”
Disclosure: I own shares of GE.
