Comcast Completes NBC Universal Purchase a Year Early

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Philadelphia-based cable giant Comcast paid Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric $16.7 billion this week to purchase the remaining 49 percent interest in NBC/Universal, a year ahead of the planned completion of the acquisition (see "TUOL" post 9/2/11), according to accounts by Bloomberg News, Mediabistro.com and others.

The deal, expected to be finalized by the end of March, fattens GE's bank account by $12 billion, includes a $4 billion debt guarantee from Comcast, $700k in preferred stock and another $1.4 billion to acquire real estate, including NBC's 30 Rockefeller Plaza building and CNBC's Englewood Cliffs, N.J., headquarters.

Comcast takes on the NBC broadcast network, cable networks Bravo, USA Network and MSNBC, as well as Universal Studios and the Universal theme parks. According to the Bloomberg News article, NBC Universal's enterprise value has jumped to $39.1 billion from $37.5 billion when Comcast initially gobbled up 51 percent of the entertainment company.

As a Comcast subscriber, "TUOL" may have something further to say about the merger in the future, on a weekday, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.