FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed several conditions that cableco Comcast will have to pass in order to acquire a 51% stake of NBC Universal (NBCU), according to media reports.
Bloomberg reported yesterday that Genachowski had proposed that…
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed several conditions that cableco Comcast will have to pass in order to acquire a 51% stake of NBC Universal (NBCU), according to media reports.
Bloomberg reported yesterday that Genachowski had proposed that Comcast would need to provide television programmes to online competitors and would not be allowed to interfere with the web traffic of subscribers, among other conditions.
The report cited unnamed sources that claimed Genachowski made these proposals in a meeting on 23 December, two days after the FCC had passed new net neutrality rules.
Genachowski reportedly said that the acquisition could be approved if Comcast fulfilled these conditions.
Comcast and NBCU announced in 2009 that they had made an agreement to become a joint venture, with Comcast taking a 51% stake and NBCU (controlled by GE) holding the remaining 49% stake.
In March, NBCU secured a US$9.85bn financing package to fund the US$30bn merger. This involved a three-year credit line, which provided the operator with a US$6.1bn bridge loan agreement, as well as a US$3bn term loan facility and a US$750m revolving credit facility.
The FCC refused to comment on the rumours. Comcast failed to reply to questions before the press deadline.
