Comcast is spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a new company. The split will leave Comcast with the cable, wireless, and business services, while the new company will handle the Universal theme parks, film and TV studios, NBC, Peacock, and Sky.
This move practically undoes the 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal by Comcast. So after 15 years of consolidation, it’s now time for some de-consolidation. Interestingly, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts will remain “actively involved” in leading both companies after the split.
Roberts, whose father Ralph founded the company in 1963, controls roughly a third of Comcast’s voting power and is likely to be able to do the same for the new company since it will have an identical dual-class share structure.
Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will run NBCUniversal, and former CFO Michael Angelakis will lead Comcast as CEO. Current shareholders of Comcast will own stock in both companies after the spinoff closes, which is expected to happen in a year.
Analysts seem to think that this move will make NBCUniversal an attractive takeover target, especially for Netflix, which recently lost the bidding war for Warner Bros. to Paramount. Comcast execs, on the other hand, have played down this prospect, saying the split is about putting “each company in the strongest position to create value, fully monetize its assets, and aggressively pursue its own organic growth strategies”.
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