News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and Liberty Media chairman John Malone separately expressed interest Friday in a deal with NBC Universal, but confirmed no talks are currently being held with General Electric.
The comments coincided with GE posting a 44 percent decline in its third-quarter profit Friday as its NBC Universal entertainment arm outperformed on the bottom line with a 13 percent profit improvement over the year-ago period.
GE has been preparing its options for a possible exit from NBC Universal over time in case Vivendi decides in the coming weeks to sell its 20 percent stake in the entertainment firm.
It has negotiated the outlines of a deal that would see Comcast merge its content assets with NBC Universal and take a 51 percent stake in the merged entity.
Malone
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