NBC - GE CHIEF INDICATES HE'S NOT ANXIOUS TO PART WITH NBC

GE CHIEF INDICATES HE'S NOT ANXIOUS TO PART WITH NBC

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt has let it be known that he's in no big hurry to make a deal that would hand off a controlling stake in NBC Universal to Comcast. Without referring directly to the ongoing negotiations with the cable-TV operator, Immelt told a San Francisco industry conference on Tuesday that he was "totally OK" with holding on to NBC Universal. "I like NBC-U," he said. "We've run it a long time. Financially the business is running in line with its peers." He suggested that any deal to sell off control of the broadcast and movie company would not be motivated by a need for cash but to energize NBC, which has languished in the ratings. Earlier in the day Comcast chief Brian Roberts sidestepped a question about the NBC-U negotiations. "If there's an opportunity, whether it's the one you are talking about or other, our philosophy is it's prudent to think about it, look at it, and beyond that we have to just wait and see," Roberts said.

21/10/2009