Shelly Palmer

Comcast buys Microsoft stake in MSNBC.com

NBC News

Comcast Corp, the parent company of NBC, has bought out Microsoft Corp’s 50 percent stake in MSNBC.com for a reported $300 million to assume full control of the news website. The deal ends 16 years of a 50-50 joint venture between Microsoft and NBCUniversal, which is now majority-owned by Comcast Corp, NBC said. “Today we’re taking on a new name – NBCNews.com. While our name is changing, our commitment is not,” Jennifer Sizemore, editor-in-chief of NBCNews.com, said in a letter posted on the company’s website. “The ties are deep, and untangling them will take at least two years,” the network said. The New York Times reported on Sunday the transaction was valued at $300 million, a part of which comes from the joint venture’s past profits, citing people with knowledge of the deal. Read the full story at Reuters.