STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with a big media merger moving forward.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Comcast is a little bit closer to buying NBC Universal. Now, this is a complicated deal, and here's what had to happen first: NBC's current owner, General Electric, has reportedly agreed on the price it will pay to buy part of NBC that it does not currently own. That stake is held by a French company, Vivendi. Once GE owns more of NBC, it can sell NBC to Comcast, which has a plan to combine its cable system with NBC Universal's film and television offerings and create an entertainment giant. GE is hoping to sell NBC Universal so it can focus on its core manufacturing products like jet engines and medical equipment.
Under the agreement, which has not yet been formalized, GE would buy the 20 percent stake in NBC Universal held by Vivendi. Reports say the agreement would pave the way for GE to sell a 51 percent stake in the TV and movie company to Comcast Corp. Comcast's plan is to combine its cable system with NBC Universal's film and television offerings and create an entertainment giant.