Comcast Buys Remaining Stake in NBCU

FAIRFIELD: GE has sold its remaining 49-percent equity interest in its joint venture with Comcast, which includes NBCUniversal, for $18.1 billion.

GE will sell the remaining 49 percent common equity stake in the NBCU joint venture to Comcast for $16.7 billion. GE will receive $12 billion in cash, $4 billion in Comcast guaranteed debt and $700 million of preferred stock. GE Capital will sell the NBCU floors in 30 Rockefeller Center as well as property in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to NBCU affiliates for $1.4 billion in cash.

“This transaction allows us to significantly increase the cash we plan to return to shareholders in 2013, to approximately $18 billion, and to continue to invest in our industrial business,” said Jeff Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO. “By adding significant new capital to our balanced capital allocation plan, we can accelerate our share buyback plans while investing in growth in our core businesses.”

Immelt continued, “We are very pleased with the investment we have made in NBCUniversal, which generated a return of 14 percent over more than two decades, and Comcast has been a great partner with GE in this joint venture. The gains we will realize from this sale will accelerate our restructuring plans and provide more momentum to our margin expansion goals. This transaction represents another strong step forward in our industrial transformation, with no change to our 2013 earnings outlook, substantially increased buyback, and continued investment in growth. Going forward, we expect to continue our balanced capital allocation approach, investing organically in our industrial businesses, growing dividends in line with earnings, buying back stock, and focusing our industrial M&A on bolt-on acquisitions.

“For nearly 30 years, NBC—and later NBCUniversal—has been a great business for GE and our investors. We are proud of our stewardship of the business and our association with the NBCU brand. Most of all, we enjoyed working with the great people of NBCUniversal. We wish them and Comcast well in the future.”