NBCU In ‘Exclusive’ Negotiations For Weather Channel
Programmer, Private Equity Firms Eye Acquisition From Landmark
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 6/15/2008 4:27:00 AM
As the weather clears, the forecast now calls for NBC Universal to own The Weather Channel.
Landmark Communications, the owner of The Weather Channel and its attendant Web site, Weather.com, said Friday it has entered into “exclusive” negotiations with NBCU and private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital LLC.
Friday afternoon Time Warner Inc. dropped out of the auction for the properties, which were put on the block by Landmark in January.
The NBC group had reportedly offered $3.5 billion -- $1.8 billion in equity, $1.7 billion in debt, according to several published reports -- well below Landmark’s $5 billion asking price.
