You may remember a few years back when Comcast (CMCSA) made a bid for Disney (DIS) only to be turned down. Reports today have them once again making a play for a blockbuster media content deal. Initial reports out of a Hollywood web site last night had Comcast buying NBC Universal outright from General Electric (GE) for $35 billion but that story has conflicted with more reliable news sources today that have Comcast forming a joint venture with GE's NBCU division. Comcast would contribute cash ($6-$7 billion is the rumored figure) and combine its own content assets with NBCU, spin the new company off, and retain 51% ownership (with GE having the other 49%).
As Peridot Capital clients own shares in both Comcast and GE, this deal is of great interest to me. I am not convinced Comcast making a huge push into content is the right move (cable service and content creation are quite different businesses) but I can see why Comcast CEO Brian Roberts might want to expand his net.
After all, they are already the largest cable operator and moves to boost that position will draw anti-trust concerns. Given that phone companies like Verizon are making a big play into cable, not to mention the typical satellite competition, owning solid content providers would make Comcast less concerned with how many people are using their pipes for cable access.
How does this play out for investors? Well, in the short term it will be seen as a negative for Comcast as people wonder if content is really where the company should be turning its focus, especially if it means spending billions of dollars in cash to do so. Longer term, as long as Comcast does not make any significant changes that threaten the profitability of NBCU, it could contribute a nice chunk of stable cash flow and diversify their business.
The impact on GE is harder to predict. On one hand, investors worried about GE's balance sheet would be happy to see the company unload some of NBCU's debt and also collect some cash in exchange for giving up 31% ownership (GE currently owns 80% of NBC, with Vivendi owning 20%). On the other hand, GE would become even more concentrated in cyclical and financial services business lines for its earnings. In a weak economic environment, the stable cash flow from NBCU has been helping, not hurting them.
Overall, I would be slightly more bullish on Comcast should this deal go through, mainly because I think CMSA stock would trade down more in the near term. Comcast is a stock I really like already, and although people will question a foray into media, I don't think Comcast's long term profitability will be negatively impacted by this deal. The uncertainty might just provide investors a nice entry point.
As for GE stock, I still think it represents a good value longer term (assuming you think the global economy will slowly improve) but I don't think reducing its NBC stake would warrant as much of a change for the company relative to the impact on Comcast). I would not chase GE stock if it moved higher on this deal, but if both stocks dropped on the uncertainty surrounding it, both would be good values at the right price. That said, I would give the nod to Comcast for value investors looking to make an initial investment post-deal.
Full Disclosure: Peridot clients owned positions in both Comcast and GE at the time of writing, but positions may change at any time