Report: NBC Universal near deal to buy the Weather Channel

Sources say General Electric Co. subsidiary NBC Universal is preparing to pay $3.5 billion to buy the Weather Channel, a U.S. cable television mainstay.

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The TV channel, its Web site and related businesses would be part of the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing anonymous sources. The newspaper said the transaction could be completed by as early as this weekend, more than six months after current owner Landmark Communications Inc. put the Weather Channel up for sale.

NBC Universal and its financial partners, Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital LLC, entered into exclusive negotiations with Landmark last month after rival Time Warner Inc. pulled out, the Journal said. Landmark had originally hoped to land $5 billion for the cable television franchise.

Included in the sale would be Weather.com and Weather Services International, which provides weather data and services to local television stations, radar maker Enterprise Electronics Corp. and Landmark's interest in Pelmorex, a Canadian weather company.