Does anyone think Rupert may be lurking around the corner?
I heard this speculation on Morning Joe on Friday but hadn't had a chance to post it.
???????? Hmmmmmmm - Makes you wonder doesn't it?
Report on it here:
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/02/ge-in-talks-to-sell-nbc-to-comcast/?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_bloggingstocksGE in talks to sell NBC to Comcast
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 5:30PM by Connie Madon
General Electric Co. (NYSE GE), owner of the 83 year old peacock NBC, wants to sell part of it to Comcast Corp. (NYSE: CCT), according to Alisa Roth, who reports that GE has entered into negotiations with Comcast to do just that.
Comcast is already the biggest cable operator in the country. If the deal goes through Comcast would own NBS, Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC, and other channels.
But there is a fly in the ointment. Vivendi (OTC: VIVEF ) owns 20% of NBC, and it is not clear whether or not it wants to sell. There could also be antitrust issues because Comcast already operates in so many places. Plus if NBC is up for grabs, other companies could join in the fray.
Under terms of the deal, GE would still retain a minority stake in NBC.
More at link
...........
Just found this:
By SHIRA OVIDE
NEW YORK—News Corp. Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477352922350392.htmlChairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch on Friday said the company plans to look at possible opportunities stemming from Comcast Corp.'s potential deal with NBC Universal, but he said the company wasn't in any negotiations.
"We'll have a look at that deal to see what opportunities there are for us," Mr. Murdoch said at News Corp.'s annual meeting when asked about the effect on News Corp. of a Comcast-NBC Universal tie-up. Mr. Murdoch characterized the interest as part of normal business operations.
With respect to the economy, Mr. Murdoch said he believes "we're not going to get another vast, steep decline...nor are we going to get a steep increase."
Despite that, Mr. Murdoch said—weeks ahead of News Corp.'s fiscal-first-quarter earnings report—that he has "even more confidence" in the company's guidance for the full fiscal year ending in June.
In August, News Corp. said it expected its fiscal-2010 adjusted operating income to increase by a high-single-digit percentage rate from the fiscal 2009 total of $3.44 billion. The company, which owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., also said it expected its overall revenue to grow by 4% in fiscal 2010, with ad revenue flat.
:shrug: