General Electric currently owns 80% of NBC Universal with the remainder held by French media group Vivendi.
NBC Universal owns US broadcast network NBC and cable channels CNBC and Syfy; film studios Universal Pictures; digital media properties , and ; a stake in online video on demand service Hulu; and Universal movie theme parks in the US and Japan.
Comcast has a share of or owns around 20 cable networks including sports channel Versus, E Entertainment Television and The Golf Channel.
According to reports the deal would involve spinning NBC off into a standalone company with Comcast owning 51% and GE owning the remainder. The deal would mean GE utilising its option to buy Vivendi’s stake.
The deal would give a boost to GE whose GE Capital financial arm has been hit by a large number of loan defaults following the recession.
This is not the first major acquisition Comcast has attempted to make in recent years. In 2004 the company was rebuffed by Disney after a $66bn approach.