London - NBC Universal announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Sparrowhawk Holdings, which operates a range of global pay-TV channels, from Providence Equity Partners, 3i and management shareholders.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under the deal, NBC Universal will acquire the 18 feeds of the international Hallmark Channels, which include Movies 24 and Diva TV, and air across 152 territories to more than 60 million subscribers in the U.K., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Latin America and Asia.

NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker said the deal is in line with the company's plans to more than double the size of its international cable channels in the next two to three years.

Upon completion, the agreement will augment NBCU Global Networks to more than 30 channels in total, with ongoing plans to expand to more than 50 channels over the next 2-3 years.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/yp99oa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark_Channel_%28UK%29