/// NBCU to Sell A+E Networks Stake for $3.03 Billion

NBCUniversal will collect $3.03 billion in exchange for its minority stake in A+E Networks. In a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, NBCU parent company Comcast Corp. reported that it will sell its 15.8 percent position in A+E to joint-venture partners Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp. The redemption price will be paid solely in cash, although per Comcast’s 8-K filing, “certain limited circumstances” could arise in which payment would be made in cash and in the form of a $1.07 billion senior note issued by A+E. When the deal closes—it is subject to the approval of federal antitrust officials—Disney and Hearst will each control a 50 percent stake in A+E. Comcast originally acquired its stake in A+E in January 2011, when it purchased a 51 percent stake in NBCU from General Electric. Analysts believe Comcast is likely to salt away the $3.03 billion in order to buy a greater interest in NBCU. GE is free to sell 50 percent of its remaining interest in NBCU in June 2014, and can cut the final tether connecting it to 30 Rock in January 2018

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NBCU to Sell A+E Networks Stake for $3.03 Billion