Comcast might buy stake in NBC Universal

Apparently, Comcast, the nation's largest cable television company, is in talks to buy a stake in entertainment giant NBC Universal. Comcast has been looking to expand its entertainment offerings for several years. In NBC Universal it would get not only a big broadcast network and movie studio but also powerful cable channels including USA, Syfy, CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo. NBC parent company General Electric Co. has repeatedly denied that it is interested in selling its vast entertainment holdings. However, the industrial giant is facing the possibility that in six weeks its minority investor, French telecommunications company Vivendi, might exercise an option to sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal. That would require GE to come up with $4 billion to pay Vivendi -- or find new investors to take Vivendi's place. This wouldn't be the first time Comcast has made a play for a piece of Hollywood. Five years ago it made an unsuccessful run to buy Walt Disney Co. for $54 billion. Taking an ownership interest in NBC Universal would cost much less. A recent report from J.P. Morgan said NBC Universal was worth $30 billion to $35 billion. A separate analysis by Sanford Bernstein & Co. valued it closer to $23 billion. The appeal of selling part of NBC Universal instead of the whole unit is it could create a more favorable tax situation for GE, which bought NBC in 1986 for $6.5 billion.