Weil advised General Electric (GE) in connection with the sale to Comcast of its remaining 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal, NBCUniversal’s floors in 30 Rockefeller Center, and CNBC’s headquarters for $18.1 billion. Under the terms of the transaction, GE will sell its 49 percent stake in its joint venture with Comcast, which includes NBCUniversal, for $16.7 billion. In addition, GE Capital will sell NBCUniversal’s floors in 30 Rockefeller Center as well as CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey to affiliates of NBCUniversal for $1.4 billion. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both GE and Comcast.
Howard Chatzinoff, co-chair of Weil’s M&A practice, and M&A partner Jackie Cohen led the Weil team that advised GE. The Weil team also included Real Estate partner Samuel Zylberberg; Capital Markets partner Jennifer Bensch; Tax partner Kenneth Heitner; Banking & Finance counsel Roshelle Nagar; M&A associates Gavin Westerman, Jennifer Cheng, Megan Pendleton, and Harry Moseley; Real Estate associates John Goldman and Jonathan Fisch; Capital Markets associate Andrew Woodworth; Tax associate Michael Breidenbach; and Banking & Finance associate Amara Gossin (all of New York).
Comcast previously acquired a 51 percent stake in NBCUniversal from GE in January 2011 for $13.8 billion. Weil represented GE in that landmark joint venture as well—a deal that changed the face of the media landscape.
