Comcast, which has been widely rumored to be in negotiations to purchase NBC Universal from General Electric (GE), appears to have reached a deal with GE, according to CNBC's anonymous sources.
The news came via CNBC's David Faber. Faber said that his sources stated that the deal is all but done, and would be announced on Thursday. "There's nothing left but to process paper," Faber said a source told him.
Earlier, GE agreed to buy the remaining 20 percent of NBC Universal which it doesn't already own from Vivendi SA. That purchase comes at a cost of $5.8 billion.
Meanwhile, Comcast is expected to pay GE about $5 billion to $7 billion in cash for the 51 percent of NBC Universal. Once the deal is done, GE and Comcast will partner on an NBC Universal joint venture. GE would transfer about $8 billion to $10 billion in debt to the joint venture.
An agreement was supposed to have been announced between GE and Comcast weeks ago. However, GE's talks with Vivendi took longer than expected.
As Comcast wants NBC Universal largely for its lucrative cable channels, such as Bravo, MSNBC, and CNBC. It will also gain the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, the Universal Pictures movie studio and Universal theme parks.
The deal is certain to draw the attention of regulators. There has been much concern that Comcast will use its control of NBC Universal's programming to combat rival pay-TV services such as those of Dish Network Corp., DirecTV, and Verizon/ Regulators might also consider whether or not the joint venture "could withhold programming or content from its rivals."
Shares of GE rose 15 cents to $16.17 on Tuesday while Comcast was up 30 cents to $14.96.
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