Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- NBC Universal may opt for an initial public offering of shares in New York should Vivendi SA decide to sell its 20 percent stake in the television network, the French company’s chief executive officer Jean-Bernard Levy said.

“Maybe that’s what will happen,” Levy said today at a media conference organized by the U.K. government Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the outskirts of London.

Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric Co. holds the remaining 80 percent of NBC Universal, the owner of the NBC television network in the U.S. GE is preparing to sell a majority stake in the company to Comcast Corp. and may divest the unit entirely in seven years, people familiar with GE’s plans said this month. Any transaction hinges on Vivendi deciding to sell its portion of the unit.

“If I were Levy, and I didn’t have a deal, that’s exactly what I would say as well,” said Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein in London. “Threatening to go down the route of an IPO is a good way to remind everyone you have other options.”

Vivendi, the Paris-based owner of the world’s largest music company, is weighing whether to exit NBC Universal and Levy has described the company’s 20 percent holding as “non-core.”

GE is negotiating with Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, to create a new company combining U.S. cable channels MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and USA with Comcast’s E! Entertainment, Versus and Golf Channel, people with knowledge of the discussions said this month.

One Way

“The thinking we had back in 2003 when we created NBC Universal was one way for Vivendi to exit would be through a quotation,” Levy said today. “I guess it would be, obviously, in New York.”

Every year between Nov. 15 and Dec. 10, Vivendi can notify GE of its intent to sell the shares in the market, which could lead to a public offering, according to Vivendi’s annual report. That option extends through 2016. GE can preempt an IPO by buying the stake, the report says.

GE, whose businesses include jet engines as well as nuclear-power and medical equipment, is “studying all the options” for NBC and has “done all the planning to see if an IPO would be fine,” Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said at a conference in San Francisco last week. GE spokesman Gary Sheffer declined to comment today.

Vivendi shares closed up 0.2 percent to 19.49 euros in Paris, valuing the company at about 23.9 billion euros ($35.3 billion).

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Campbell in London at mcampbell39@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 13:59 EDT