GE (GE) Says "No Way" To Selling NBC Universal

GE (NYSE: GE) will say once again that its entertainment business, NBC Universal, is not for sale.

“Should we sell NBCU? The answer is no!” Mr. Immelt writes in a message for investors in G.E.’s 2007 annual report according to The New York Times. Immelt is GE’s CEO.

With GE’s stock near a 52-week low, the decision is a bad one. NBC Universal lost revenue last year falling to $15.4 billion from $16.2 billion the year before. Profits moved up 7% to $3.1 billion.

Those numbers are like a boat anchor dragging on GE’s successful financial and infrastructure business. The infrastructure operation. GE’s largest, had a 2007 revenue increase of 21% to $57.9 billion. Operating income was up about the same amount to $10.8 billion.

Until GE finds a new home for operations like NBC Universal it is going to be very hard to get the company’s shares to move.

Douglas A. McIntyre