EU Commission Clears Comcast To Get Control Of NBC Universal

Quote: The European Commission on Wednesday signed off on Comcast’s (CMCSA)acquisition of a majority stake in GeneralElectric’s (GE) NBC Universal.The regulatory green light clears a hurdle the joint venture faced and shifts the spotlight to the U.S., where lawmakershave expressed more concern about the deal.After examining the deal, the EU “concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition inthe European Economic Area or any substantial part of it,” the commission said in a statement.The EU said its study of the deal showed that while the joint venture leads to overlaps between Comcast, MGM and NBC Universal,the parties’ market shares “remain very limited” in EEA countries.Also, the EU said that unlike in the U.S., the NBCU joint venture “does not lead to any vertical relationship between Comcast'scable distribution platform and NBC Universal's programming assets.”The NBCU deal calls for Comcast to provide$6.5 billion in cash and its own television networks in exchange for a 51% stake in the joint venture. Comcast is the largestU.S. cable operator and NBCU includes NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA and other assets.Shares of Comcast rose 0.3% to $19.07 Wednesday morning, giving it a 2010 gain of almost 13%. General Electric’s stockgained 0.5% to $15.27....
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