General Electric and Comcast announced a $30 billion agreement to shift control of NBC Universal from GE to Comcast, in one of the biggest deals in media history. Craig Moffett, senior telecommunications analyst at Stanford Bernstein, shared his insight.
“The deal was negotiated in public, so there’s not a lot of news in the deal itself—but shortly after the deal was announced this morning, Comcast announced an increase in its dividend,” Moffett told CNBC. “In some ways, that’s the biggest news here.”
Moffett said investors had been frustrated that Comcast hadn’t been returning cash to its shareholders "and were spending it on GE instead. So this is throwing them a bone."
“The cable stocks in general are very cheap—so that makes them attractive,” said Moffett. “But I still prefer Time Warner Cable because I think as a pure-play cable operator, it’s a little easier to invest in right now.”
Moffett said Comcast is going to be a “very complicated story” for the next 12 months.
“It’s still cheap and I like it for the long-term, but for the next 12 months, it’s going to be a torturous regulatory process,” he said.
- Watch Moffett's Latest Appearance on CNBC (Dec. 1, 2009)
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More Analysis on the Deal:
- GE, Comcast Will Both Benefit From NBCU Deal: Analysts
- Inside the Comcast-NBC Universal Deal
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CNBC Data Pages:
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- Track the DJ Media Index Here
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CNBC Slideshows:
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Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Moffett or his firm.
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