This does not happen too often, but I guess the fact that a fair price has been reached and more importantly an overhang of sorts has been removed. I am talking about Comcast's purchase of the balance of NBC Universal for a whopping 16.7 billion Dollars. This announcement coincided with very good fourth quarter results from Comcast -> Comcast Q4 Profit Rises, Boosts Dividend By 20%; To Repurchase $2.0 Bln Of Stock.
This article seems to suggest that Comcast got a great price from GE: Comcast's NBC Purchase Pushes Roberts Into Entertainment. Before the rise in the aftermarket, the deal represents around 15 percent of Comcast's market capitalisation. It is less of a big deal for GE, but it is not insignificant, around 7 percent of their market cap. A special dividend could be in the offing, if GE were in the business of doing that, they have done that from time to time. There was a statement from chief Jeff Immelt that suggested as much, so look out for further cash. I suspect the real reason that people buy GE is for their global industrial business. I suspect that in the coming years there might be a separation of the GE Money business. That business however is linked closely to the industrial business.