The future of NBC Universal remains in flux, and now, News Corp. and Liberty Media have expressed interest in a possible stake in the company, according to reports from CNBC.
NBCU, which is 80 percent owned and controlled by General Electric Co., has been rumored to be looking at a deal with Comcast that would have the company 51 percent owned by Comcast and 49 percent owned by GE.
The report goes on to say that GE is looking to have a pair of "puts" placed into a deal with Comcast that would have GE put some of the 49 percent stake onto Comcast after three and seven years after the new NBC Universal is created.
The report says that NBCU would be spun off and merged with Comcast's content assets and cash, and that "many of the terms for that deal have already been negotiated."
Although News Corp. and Liberty are looking at a possible deal, GE remains focused on a Comcast deal or a initial public offering, the report says.
Any potential purchase involving News Corp. would likely draw scrutiny from federal regulators, as the company is the owner of the Fox television network.
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
