Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating on General Electric Company on Announced NBCU Sale

In a report published Wednesday, Morgan Stanley reiterated its Equal-Weight rating on General Electric Company

. Morgan Stanley noted, “This evening, GE announced the sale of its remaining 49% equity stake in the NBCU JV to Comcast for $16.7bn. In addition, GE will sell NBCU-owned property to Comcast for $1.4bn cash, which brings the total purchase price to $18.1bn. The valuation of GE's remaining NBCU stake is in line with our ~$17bn estimate, and the implied ~10x EBITDA represents a premium to the current 9x Entertainment comps multiple. GE will receive $13.4bn cash, $4bn in Comcast debt and $0.7bn of preferred stock as payment. The transaction is expected to close in late March.” General Electric Company closed on Tuesday at $22.58.