In the Washington Post this morning:
One is a giant of the entertainment world — a tangle of television networks, a film studio and a stable of hit shows. The other is a cable colossus, the nation’s largest provider of cable TV and Internet access. Together, the possibilities are endless.
And that prospect has caught regulators’ attention.
With Philadelphia-based cable operator Comcast apparently hoping to acquire NBC Universal from General Electric, federal regulators are realizing that they may be thrust into a new era. A combination of the two would create the prospect of a single company controlling how customers access information–through cable and online — and what they watch there…
In a potential merger of this magnitude it is not uncommon for the parties to have a preliminary, informal “meet and confer” with the DOJ and/or FTC. We will watch this one closely and we expect a deluge of analysis over the weekend.
Here is more from MarketWatch:
General Electric co-CEO Jeffrey Immelt was in Paris Wednesday, working to accelerate negotiations to acquire Vivendi’s minority stake in NBC Universal, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. GE, which owns 80% of NBC Universal, is progressing in talks with the Paris-based media and telecommunications company, the report said, though it remains unclear whether Vivendi will sell its 20% stake. GE has ironed out a deal to give cable company Comcast Corp. control over NBC Universal, but the deal hinges on Vivendi selling its stake to GE. Recently GE and Vivendi have been at loggerheads over the valuation of the stake, the Journal reported. It added that the gap between their valuations is now narrower than $500 million.
