Update 2: Bloomberg reports that Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) wants to buy 50 percent of NBCU, but depends on whether Vivendi (EPA: VIV) will offload its 20 percent.

Update1: Comcast came out with a statement: “While we do not normally comment on M&A rumors, the report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is inaccurate.” Of course, it doesn’t have a deal…yet. That tracks with what we’re hearing from people familiar with the situation. NBCU declined comment.

This has been talked about so many times, it is almost manifest destiny. TheWrap is reporting that Comcast is in talks to acquired NBC Universal from GE, and that the bankers on both sides had a meeting yesterday in New York. The cable giant has long been rumored to be a logical buyer for NBCU if and when it would come on the market, either by GE or if minority owner Vivendi forced GE’s hand.

Back in 2004 Comcast tried to buy Disney (NYSE: DIS), and ever since then, it has been on the prowl for a large media/content acquisition. NBCU’s own revenues and broadcast ratings have been falling, and in Q209, reported profits down 41 percent, and revenues fell 8 percent to $3.5 billion. JPMorgan recently valued NBC Universal at $30 billion to $35 billion, reported in WSJ.

Videndi, which owns 20 percent of NBC Universal, has been making noises about selling its stake recently (back to GE or third party), or at least forcing its hand for an IPO, a right it has as part of the stake. The suitors mentioned in media reports include John Malone, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and others. (Staci adds: I just got an unequivocal “no” when I asked a Time Warner spokesperson if they had any interest.)

Recent stories about NBCU’s sale speculation: NYT 1; NYT 2; Bloomberg; NYPost; Reuters.

Meanwhile Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield had this to say about Comcast in a note yesterday: “While Comcast has finally risen out of the mid-teens (beginning to catch-up to its broader media peers, stock performance-wise), we sense investors remain concerned with the company’s capital allocation strategy. Investors are clearly more concerned about the risk of Comcast making a large acquisition in the next 12 months than they are Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), which we sense has led to a rotation from CMCSA/K shares into TWC. Virtually anytime investors in the media/telecom sectors discuss an asset for sale, Comcast comes up as a possible buyer (Scripps, Sprint (NYSE: S), Vivendi’s NBCU, etc…).”

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