NEW YORK (AP) - Comcast says it's buying General Electric's 49 percent stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for $16.7 billion. It comes several years early, as Comcast takes advantage of low borrowing costs and what CEO Brian Roberts calls a "very attractive price."
Comcast Corp. had bought a majority stake in the television and movie company in 2011. It had planned to take a larger stake in it over seven years, paying for it from operating cash.
But Roberts told The Associated Press that the sale of its stake in pay TV network A&E and some wireless spectrum gave it plenty of cash on hand. He also says Comcast got a good deal given that the stock price of media conglomerates has been rising.
The Associated Press