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Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) investment in Groupon — through a company headed by its former CFO — continues the cable TV firm’s move into Internet, software and media assets. Comcast continues to steer away from major M&A, though, following last year’s demise of the proposed Time Warner Cable ( TWC ) acquisition. Atairos, an investment firm formed by former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis and funded mainly by the cable TV firm, said on Monday that it would invest $250 million in struggling Groupon ( GRPN ). Angelakis will join Groupon’s board. Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group ( BABA ) earlier this year invested in Groupon. While Comcast’s chief financial officer, Angelakis engineered the cable TV firm’s two-part purchase of media giant NBCUniversal from General Electric ( GE ). In November, Comcast brought in new M&A expertise. Comcast named Robert Eatroff, formerly Morgan Stanley ’s ( MS ) head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas, as its new executive VP of global corporate development and strategy. Comcast has signaled interest in making acquisitions overseas. Speculation that Comcast could buy a wireless phone company, such as T-Mobile US ( TMUS ), has cooled, though the cable TV firm has filed as a potential bidder in a government auction of airwaves. Comcast continues to active in media investments. Comcast’s Fandango, an online movie ticket seller, earlier this year acquired movie websites Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes from Time Warner’s Warner Bros. Fandango also bought online video retailer M-Go. In 2015, NBCUniversal invested $250 million in website BuzzFeed. Comcast also invested in digital publisher Vox Media and Visible World. Image provided by Shutterstock . Scalper1 News
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