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The global media and telecom company Comcast Corporation announced earlier this week that it would buy for an estimated amount of 16.7 billion U.S. dollars (about 12.5 billion euro) the 49% share of General Electrics in NBCUniversal, a group of which it already held 51% of shareholding since 2011.
This acquisition - which should be finalized by the end of March - occurs more than a year before the deadline that was agreed with General Electrics at the time of the first transaction when Comcast repurchased the shares of Vivendi. The group had indeed indicated its intention to become the sole shareholder of NBCUniversal from the beginning of the negociations in 2009.
Besides its business activities in TV productions, movie industry and cable channels, NBCUniversal also manages the operator Universal Parks and Resorts which owns in the United States the sites of Universal Orlando Resort (Florida) and Universal Studios Hollywood (California). The company has also signed licensing and operating agreements with the foreign companies that own and manage Universal Studios Japan in Osaka and Universal Studios Singapore.
Despite a still unstable economic situation in North America, the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resort are performing quite well. The activity has indeed generated revenues of $2.1 billion (about €1.57 billion) and operating cash flow of $953 million (about €712 million) during the fiscal year 2012, up respectively by 4.8% and 9.9% compared to 2011. The group stated that this excellent performance is due to the successful launch of the dark ride TRANSFORMERS: The Ride - 3D at Hollywood and to the popularity still growing of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the two Resorts have also experienced a significant increase in attendance, which bodes well for the fiscal year 2013.
Comcast has not yet announced its intentions for the future of Universal theme parks but intends to continue the current development strategy. Among the current major projects confirmed, Universal Studios Florida will open this summer the dark ride TRANSFORMERS while preparing at the same time the future with new Harry Potter attractions. At Universal Studios Hollywood, the master plan ' Evolution'' has just received the green light from authorities and will now have to pass a final administrative step before being accepted for good. As a reminder, this plan aims to expand the area of Universal City - which also includes the Universal studio facilities and backlot - of 13.5 hectares (33 acres) of which 3.5 (8.5) will be dedicated to the theme park, the entertainment district CityWalk and the construction of two new hotels.
The acquisition of NBCUniversal is certainly a kind of revenge for Comcast after the bitter failure of its hostile takeover bid launched against The Walt Disney Company in 2004. At that time, the group had offered to buy the Disney empire for more than $65 billion but was clashed by the reluctance of both investors and the company's board of directors that was led by Michael Eisner at the time.
Comcast realized during 2012 a turnover of 62.57 billion U.S. dollars, up 12% compared to the previous fiscal year. Financial analysts and the market have reacted positively to the news of the purchase, the action of the group climbed more than 6% in three days.
For more news about Universal Parks and Resorts, please read our related articles below.
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NEW | Maurer Söhne - Published on October 21, 2013
NewsParcs will do a full coverage of the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 in Orlando to have a look at the latest trends and developments of the global theme park industry.
