GE Confirms It Sees Comcast Deal Close in January
General Electric said Thursday it expects its deal with Comcast to close in January, instead of by year's end, as previously expected.
However, GE said it still expects a "strong financial outlook for fiscal year 2010."
CNBC and CNBC.com are part of GE's NBC Universal unit.
GE expects that it will record a "large pre-tax gain and a small after-tax gain" upon the close of Comcast's acquisition of a majority stake in NBC Universal.
That deal is under review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. The company said the agencies are making "good progress" toward approval of the deal.
"We appreciate the intensive efforts of the FCC and DOJ, as well as by our own teams, and look forward to completing the process early in 2011," the company said in a press release. "We look forward to working with our new partners at Comcast after the transaction is completed."
Separately, GE says it plans to put aside another $500 million to dredge toxic chemicals it dumped into New York's Hudson River more than 30 years ago, bringing the clean-up bill to $1.33 billion over two decades.
The largest U.S. conglomerate said Thursday it expected one-time gains, including a favorable tax settlement, to offset the after-tax charge, which it will record in the fourth quarter.
It did not change its overall performance forecast.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week ordered Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE to dredge deeper into the river to remove sediment that included polychlorinated biphenyls—or PCBs—which have been shown to cause cancer.
GE dumped the chemicals, which it had used as an insulator in electric components, into a 40-mile stretch of the river north of the state capital Albany, some 150 miles north of New York City, for three decades prior to discontinuing their use in 1977.
It has already spent about $830 million since 1990 on prior cleanup efforts.
Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told investors on Dec. 14 that GE was working on a plan that would "take the dredging of the Hudson off the table for future years."
