Market Currents

• Thursday, December 24, 2009

• 09:39 AM For the first time ever, Hollywood passes $10B at the box office. And that's before the mob scene expected this weekend, with debuts of Sherlock Holmes (TWX), and It's Complicated (GE, CMCSA), and with Avatar (NWS) in only it's second weekend. 1 Comment

• Tuesday, December 22, 2009

• 14:09 PM Warren Buffett taps Comcast (CMCSA) COO Stephen Burke - son of past business associate Daniel Burke - as a director at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), an example of "Buffett keeping things all in the family." The board's "most important" task, according to the 79-year-old Buffett? Finding a successor for Buffett. 1 Comment

• Thursday, December 3, 2009

• 13:52 PM "I've done a lot of deals in my life," Comcast's (CMCSA) 89-year-old cofounder Ralph J. Roberts told GE (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt one early July afternoon. "Every deal has its time. This is the right time." Andrew Ross Sorkin and Tim Arango tell the tale of Comcast's closelipped courtship of NBC Universal. 1 Comment
• 08:22 AM Dealbook breaks down the NBC Universal (GE, CMCSA) sale, by the numbers. Meanwhile, in a letter released with the deal, Comcast tries to head off opposition to the deal. Comment!
• 06:21 AM Jeff Zucker, who will lead the new NBCU: "Combining the assets of NBCU (GE), ranging from our suite of cable properties and two broadcast networks to a legendary film studio and global theme park business, with the content assets and resources of Comcast (CMCSA), will enable us to continue to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape." 2 Comments
• 06:14 AM GE (GE) and Comcast (CMCSA) make it official, announcing a $30B agreement to shift control of NBC Universal from GE to the Comcast. Details as expected: Comcast will control 51% of the new entity, for which it will pay $6B in cash and throw in its content assets. GE kicks in NBCU along with $9B in debt, and will buy out Vivendi's (VIVDY.PK) 20% stake in NBCU for $5.8B. (PR) Comment!

• Wednesday, December 2, 2009

• 15:16 PM [[GE]] and Comcast (CMCSA) plan to announce their deal for NBC Universal tomorrow, WSJ reports. Comcast would head a new joint venture that will include the NBC TV network, more than a dozen cable nets and Universal Studios (the studio and the parks). Comment!
• 08:23 AM GE (GE) will delay paying Vivendi (VIVDY.PK) cash for its $5.8B purchase of Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal, sources say. Vivendi will only get its money once the Comcast (CMCSA) deal closes, which could take more than a year due to regulatory reviews. If the deal doesn't close by late 2010, Vivendi could be entitled to a payment of up to $2B from GE. Comment!

• Tuesday, December 1, 2009

• 14:36 PM Comcast (CMCSA) may have to put up less cash to take control of NBC Universal, as the cable giant and [[GE]] have reportedly valued Comcast's cable channels at $6.5B-7B. Alternately, Comcast could take a greater portion of the venture's cash flow. The companies value NBCU's assets at near $30B. (GE, Vivendi come to terms) 1 Comment

• Monday, November 30, 2009

• 20:21 PM GE (GE) and Vivendi (VIVDY.PK) come together on a tentative $5.8B deal for Vivendi's 20% stake in NBC Universal - roughly in between the two firms' last best offers. A finalized deal would clear the key obstacle to selling a majority share in the network to Comcast (CMCSA). 1 Comment

• Wednesday, November 25, 2009

• 14:33 PM Clearwire (CLWR +5%) gathers another $920M in financing for a recent total of $2.8B, more than enough to reach its goal of providing 120M people with wireless 4G Internet by the end of next year. The funding adds fuel to an ambitious bet on WiMAX by Clearwire backers Sprint Nextel (S), Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner (TWX) and others. Comment!
• 14:03 PM As Vivendi (VIVDY.PK) and [[GE]] consider an IPO for Vivendi's NBC Universal stake that could scuttle a sale of the network to Comcast (CMCSA), Lacey Rose says the only thing worse than the deal is no deal at all. The three companies need the tie-up to happen; Vivendi's likely gouging as much as it can before freeing itself from the network. Comment!

• Monday, November 23, 2009

• 15:42 PM With right of first refusal, [[GE]] is reportedly leaning toward allowing an IPO of Vivendi's (VIVDY.PK) stake in NBC Universal, as talks over selling the unit to Comcast (CMCSA) stall. The annual window in which Vivendi could decide to sell ends Dec. 10; an IPO would likely scuttle GE's deal with Comcast. 1 Comment
• 09:25 AM Talks between GE Corp. (GE) and Vivendi have reportedly ground to a halt as the two clash over how to assess the worth of NBC Universal, with a price difference of several hundred million dollars separating them. GE and Comcast (CMCSA) had hoped to announce a deal as early as Monday, but sources say this could now be at least a week away, or perhaps not at all if Vivendi decides to pursue an IPO of its 20% stake in NBCU rather than sell it back to GE. 1 Comment

• Friday, November 20, 2009

• 08:54 AM A quick sale of NBC Universal (GE) to Comcast (CMCSA) is a little further away, as GE and Vivendi (VIVDY.PK) reportedly differ on the value of the latter's stake in the network, by at least $1B. UBS analysts think a compromise is still likely. 1 Comment

• Thursday, November 19, 2009

• 08:38 AM Vivendi's (VIVDY.PK) CFO says the company has no plans to be part of the future JV that Comcast (CMCSA) and General Electric (GE) are discussing. Selling its 20% percent stake in NBCU would give Vivendi "additional financial headroom" after it gained control of Brazil's telecoms operator GVT last week, he said, but cautioned, "we are not there yet." Comment!