Comcast sells A&E stake for $3 bn

US media giant Comcast said Tuesday it was divesting its 15.8 percent stake in the A&E cable channel held through its NBCUniversal unit, getting some $3 billion. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Comcast said it was redeeming its stake in the joint venture with Disney/ABC and Hearst Communications. Comcast, which took control of the vast NBC television enterprise in 2011, said earlier this year it would sell its stake in A&E but had not indicated a price. Sources familiar with the deal said that Disney and Hearst will each hold 50 percent of the A&E channel with the transaction. The deal effectively values A&E at $19.1 billion. It includes the flagship A&E channel along with the Channel, Biography Channel and Lifetime. Under its deal completed in January 2011, Comcast holds a 51 percent stake in NBC, while US conglomerate General Electric retains 49 percent. Comcast is the largest cable television operator and high-speed Internet provider in the United States while NBCUniversal has a vast array of news, movie and television properties.