NBCU Pays $195 Mil To Secure Remaining MSNBC Site Stake
NBCUniversal spent $195 million to buy back the remaining 50% of MSNBC.com that was owned by Microsoft, according to Comcast’s latest 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The deal, which was signed this past summer, saw NBCU take control of the site, and then redirect visitors to a new online hub dubbed NBCNews.com. At the time, unconfirmed
reports put the cost of the buyout at $300 million.
“The total purchase price was $195 million, which was net of $100 million of cash and cash equivalents held at MSNBC.com that
were acquired in the transaction, which were not previously attributable to NBCUniversal,” Comcast explained in its 10-K filing.
“Following the close of the transaction,
MSNBC.com is a wholly owned consolidated subsidiary of NBCUniversal.”
First reported by Mediabistro’s TV Newser blog, the purchase price means that Microsoft and NBCU
valued MSNBC.com in the ballpark of $500 million.
Regarding the deal, neither Comcast or Microsoft offered further comment on Friday.
The news comes on the heels of
Comcast announcing plans to buy the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal from General Electric for $16.7 billion -- which occurred two years after it took a 51% majority ownership in NBC.
Comcast closed its initial majority stake deal with GE for $6.2 billion in cash for NBCUniversal in January 2011. It contributed its cable TV networks -- such as E!, The Golf Channel and Versus --
worth $7.25 billion, to the deal.
As such, Comcast gained operating control over the NBC TV network, Universal Studios, NBC stations, and all of NBC's cable networks, including MSNBC,
as well as its digital assets.
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