Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

NBC interested in bidding

NEW YORK -- Four companies submitted bids for Vivendi Universal's entertainment assets on Monday, but the most intriguing development was a statement of interest by a fifth -- General Electric's NBC unit.

A person close to Vivendi said that Liberty Media, headed by John C. Malone, had made a bid. So did two investor groups, one led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., the former chief executive of Seagram, and the other by entrepreneur Marvin Davis.

Billionaire casino investor Kirk Kerkorian's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer also submitted an offer, this person said, but only for the Universal film library, which may make it unlikely that MGM will emerge as the winner.

The New York Times reprted NBC is said to want the Vivendi cable businesses -- USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel -- and its film and television studios.

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