NBC Universal acquires The Weather Channel

NBC Universal, with private equity investment partners Bain Capital and Blackstone Group, agreed this past weekend to buy cable network The Weather Channel, ending a long-running auction that captured interest from several major media companies. ┬á Landmark Communications Inc., owner of The Weather Channel, put the network up for sale in January, along with the popular website weather.com, and other related businesses. ┬á Initial interest was shown by CBS, Comcast, and Time Warner, the worldÔÇÖs largest media company. CBS and Comcast dropped out early on, however, and Time Warner followed on June 13th, leaving the NBC-led group as the only candidate. ┬á Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but people familiar with the agreement say NBC is expected to pay $3.5 billion, less than the $5 billion Landmark had hoped for at the start of the sale. ┬á Lehman Brothers Holdings analysts Anthony DiClemente and Vijay Jayant wrote in January at the start of the auction that weather.com is ÔÇ£the most highly coveted asset in the Landmark transaction, as the Web site is likely to serve as the growth driver moving forward.''┬á The Weather Channel has estimated annual revenue of $550 million and 1,300 employees. Weather.com has approximately 37 million monthly visitors, and is among the top 15 US websites, according to the company. ┬á NBC and Landmark both said the network would continue to operate as a separate entity out of its current base in Atlanta, under the management of NBC.┬á Pending regulatory authorization, the transaction should close by the end of the year. ┬á