Reports: GE, Vivendi clear hurdle to Comcast-NBC deal

General Electric and fellow NBC Universal investor Vivendi reportedly have agreed on a $5.8 billion valuation for Vivendi's 20 percent stake in the programming company, which should lead to the sale of that stake to G.E., according to The New York Times and other media outlets. That sale ultimately should lead to a long-awaited $30 billion joint venture involving programming from both Comcast and NBC Universal, a venture that is expected to be 51 percent owned by Comcast.

Speculation about the deal has been circulating for more than two months, though progress seemed stalled at times by reported disagreements between the companies involved about the value of Vivendi's stake. G.E. and Comcast still have a ways to go, but the largest cable TV company in the U.S. is a bit closer to controlling one of the major programming firms.

For more:
- The New York Times has this story [1]

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Time Warner: We're not interested in NBC Universal [6] [3]