Media conglomerate Vivendi said on Dec. 3 that it intends to sell its entire 20% stake in NBC Universal to General Electric for $5.8 billion dollars.
A statement from the French firm said the sale was contingent on General Electric completing the merger of its media operations with Comcast, a deal the American firms announced simultaneously in New York.
"If the GE-Comcast transaction is not completed by September 2010, Vivendi will sell 7.66% of NBC Universal to GE for two billion dollars. The remainder of the stake, or 12.34%, will be sold for $3.8 billion to GE upon completion of the GE-Comcast transaction," it said.
Comcast said that it was to create a joint venture with GE to take a controlling stake in NBC Universal, which is valued at $30 billion and is the world's fourth-largest media and entertainment company.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
