Comcast, GE near agreement valuing NBC Universal at $30 billion

Comcast (CMCSA), the nation's largest cable company, and GE (GE), the giant industrial conglomerate, are nearing agreement on a deal that would value NBC Universal, the huge entertainment company, at around $30 billion, sources familiar with the matter tell DailyFinance. If successful, the pact would pave the way for a distribution and content behemoth sure to attract attention from regulators. The new entity would dramatically alter the competitive landscape of a media world already wracked by Internet-driven disruption and the ever-increasing penetration of high-speed broadband service.

Comcast, already a corporate giant, clearly sees the long-lusted-after golden chalice of a unified content and distribution system within its grasp.