GigaOM Pro

Summary:

Comcast’s pending acquisition of NBC Universal, approved by the companies’ boards of directors on Dec. 2, 2009, represents the culmination of an impressive bit of dealing: a three-way bank shot involving General Electric, Vivendi and a new joint venture. It also had a lot of moving parts, faced complex valuation metrics and tight balance-sheet tolerances, and yet it all came together remarkably fast for a $30 billion merger. That said, there’s a long way to go yet before the deal closes. In this research note, we take a look at what the deal will mean for Comcast, NBC Universal, GE and Hulu, as well as competitors to these players. We also make recommendations for how others in the ecosystem should respond to the deal and its implications for the industry as a whole.