GE and Vivendi Halt Talks Over Stake in NBC

Apparently, talks between General Electric and Vivendi over the future of NBC Universal have stalled. The sides, which jointly own NBC Universal, appear to be at least $500 million apart on how to value the network, which G.E. is hoping to sell to Comcast, the big cable television company. G.E. has been negotiating for weeks with Vivendi over buying its stake and then selling a majority interest in NBC to Comcast. However, it appears that Vivendi is driving a hard bargain, holding up G.E.'s plans. If Vivendi decides against selling its stake entirely and no deal is reached, it may raise questions about G.E.'s position strategically now that it has signaled to the market that it does not feel NBC is a core part of its business. Part of the schism between G.E. and Vivendi is about how quickly Vivendi would be paid; Vivendi has asked that part of its payment be made before G.E. completes its deal with Comcast.