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Will Comcast Buy All Of NBCU?

Comcast could buy out General Electric Co.'s 49% interest in the NBC Universal joint venture for $17 billion in the next four years, according to Citigroup media analyst Jason Bazinet, who believes such a plan is not only sensible but affordable.

According to the JV agreement, Comcast would have the right to buy out a portion of GE's stake in the joint venture after 3.5 years and the rest seven years after the deal closes. But Bazinet thinks it's smarter for Comcast to buy out GE early. NBCU should be debt free by 2014, which would let Comcast heap more debt on the partnership and still maintain a 2.75 times leverage ratio.

Read the whole story at Multichannel News »

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