NBCU in Exclusive Talks for Weather Channel

NEW YORK, June 16: NBC
Universal is in exclusive negotiations with Landmark Communications to acquire
The Weather Channel, according to published reports, working with
private-equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.

Time Warner recently
pulled out of talks with Landmark, leaving solely NBC Universal in the final
round. The cable channel has been on the auction block since earlier this year,
with an initial valuation of about $5 billion. The deal is expected to be a
good fit for NBC Universal, which already operates a weather service—the
digital channel NBC Weather Plus.

—By Mansha Daswani