Business

GE sells NBCUniversal stake, offices and studios to Comcast for $18B

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Comcast CEO Brian Roberts hit the fast-forward button on his takeover of NBCUniversal.

The cable company revealed yesterday it will pay $16.7 billion to buy out General Electric’s remaining 49 percent stake in NBCU, speeding up a process that was expected to play out over several more years. The purchase comes just two years after Comcast acquired a 51 percent stake in New York media company.

While Comcast was expected to take full control of NBCU, the accelerated timetable came as a surprise to the Street and was widely perceived as a vote of confidence in NBCU. Comcast had the option to buy out GE in 2014.

Philadelphia-based Comcast, which moved up the release of its fourth-quarter earnings by a day, also raised its dividend and announced a stock buyback.

Investors pushed Comcast shares up 7 percent in late trading on the news. Earlier, the stock rose less than 1 percent to close at $38.97.

Separately, Comcast bought NBCU’s floors at its legendary Midtown headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as well as CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, for another $1.4 billion. The total price is $18.1 billion.

Roberts — who touted the deal on NBCU-owned business news network CNBC — steered clear of questions about the removal of the GE logo from the iconic 30 Rock building, popularized by Tina Fey’s NBC sitcom, “30 Rock.” The show just ended its run after seven years.

The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter, marks the end of an era for GE, the industrial conglomerate that acquired NBC from RCA in 1986. GE shares also got a boost from the deal, climbing nearly 4 percent in late trading.

GE sold the naming rights to the building but didn’t give up its office space on the 53rd and 52nd floors, sources said. GE boss Jeff Immelt is said to be particularly attached to the offices and their breathtaking views.

In addition to the flagship broadcast network, NBCU’s assets include cable channels such as Bravo, E! and USA, the Universal movie studio and theme parks.

Comcast said it raised most of the money for the acquisition from the sale of its stake in A&E Network and from wireless spectrum sales to Verizon.

“It gives GE more certainty and gives NBC the access to cable cash flow for investing purposes,” Nomura analyst Michael McCormack told The Post.

The $16.7 billion price tag for NBCU was at the higher end of McCormack’s estimate; he predicted it would be done between $15 billion and $17 billion.

McCormack estimates NBCU’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at $4.12 billion, slightly more than last year’s Ebitda of $4.107 billion.

The implied enterprise value for NBCUniversal is $39.3 billion, which is also a slight uptick from the $37 billion value it was assigned two years ago when Comcast gained majority control.

“Maybe they feel the opportunity is to buy at a more meaningful and reasonable price today,” McCormack said.