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CNN Live At Daybreak
Vivendi-NBC Deal May Be Announced Today
Aired September 02, 2003 - 06:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A little business buzz for you right now. Universal Studios theme parks, the USA and Sci-Fi Networks all on the auction block.
Carrie Lee live in New York to tell us about the last-minute wrestling between the bidders for the deal.
Who's the winner -- Carrie?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well looks like, Carol, it's likely to be General Electric, and of course GE is the parent company of NBC, the television network, as well as other units. Vivendi Universal getting very close to selecting a buyer for the entertainment assets that you just mentioned.
Now public -- published reports say that the French media company is going to enter exclusive negotiations with GE's NBC Television unit. General Electric is offering $14 billion to control the merged companies. Reports say that an announcement about a deal could come today after Vivendi's board meeting in Paris.
However, Edgar Bronfman Jr., who recently gave up his seat on Vivendi's board to make a bid of his own, is also still in the running. He's offering $13 million, $8 million of which is in cash, and that's certainly got to be tempting on some level to Vivendi because they are trying to pare down a $14 billion debt load.
So the story continues today. Vivendi not officially commenting on the talks or when a possible announcement might be made, but investors really getting excited because the stock has been up about 4 percent in Europe early this morning, Carol. Futures look very strong this morning for stocks in the U.S. by the way as well.
COSTELLO: We like the sound of that. Thank you, Carrie Lee, we'll get back to you in our next half hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 2, 2003 - 06:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A little business buzz for you right now. Universal Studios theme parks, the USA and Sci-Fi Networks all on the auction block.
Carrie Lee live in New York to tell us about the last-minute wrestling between the bidders for the deal.
Who's the winner -- Carrie?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well looks like, Carol, it's likely to be General Electric, and of course GE is the parent company of NBC, the television network, as well as other units. Vivendi Universal getting very close to selecting a buyer for the entertainment assets that you just mentioned.
Now public -- published reports say that the French media company is going to enter exclusive negotiations with GE's NBC Television unit. General Electric is offering $14 billion to control the merged companies. Reports say that an announcement about a deal could come today after Vivendi's board meeting in Paris.
However, Edgar Bronfman Jr., who recently gave up his seat on Vivendi's board to make a bid of his own, is also still in the running. He's offering $13 million, $8 million of which is in cash, and that's certainly got to be tempting on some level to Vivendi because they are trying to pare down a $14 billion debt load.
So the story continues today. Vivendi not officially commenting on the talks or when a possible announcement might be made, but investors really getting excited because the stock has been up about 4 percent in Europe early this morning, Carol. Futures look very strong this morning for stocks in the U.S. by the way as well.
COSTELLO: We like the sound of that. Thank you, Carrie Lee, we'll get back to you in our next half hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
