General Electric has made no secret that it would like to divest itself of NBC Universal. But it's OK, because a not-so-small cable company called Comcast -- which so happens to be the largest cable operator in the United States -- could be a suitor.

That's a rumor being shared by The Hollywood Reporter, and one which both Comcast Corp. and NBCU deny. But the trade is sticking to the story, and if it were to come true, would mean NBCU would become part of a company whose primary focus is media, and not appliances.

And this is Comcast, the same cable company that just five years ago wanted to buy The Walt Disney Co. for $66 billion. And now it could be going for a slightly more interesting prize in an economy not exactly ripe with mergers and acquisitions.

Comcast reported a profit of $967 million in the most recent quarter that ended on June 30, up 53 percent from the profit it made a year before. Revenue was up as well from $8.6 billion to $8.9 billion.

At the same time, Comcast has been hoarding cash. It built its liquid reserves from $1.2 billion at the end of last year to just under $4 billion at the end of the last quarter, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Comcast has about a $5.1 billion credit line with its banks, both barely enough to buy the Vivendi 20 percent stake in NBCU let alone controlling interest in the company.

However, any such takeover of NBCU could come with any combination of cash, loans and stock offerings, as well as other investors joining Comcast in such a bid to take over the company. Some analysts have valued NBCU at no more than $23 billion, according to MediaPost, which could very much put the Peacock in Comcast's price range.

If Comcast were to take over, they would have a lot of work to do. Like many media companies, NBCU is bleeding money. Its flagship network, NBC, is trailing its competitors among the Big Four networks in terms of ratings, and shareholders have been uneasy waiting to find out whether or not Vivendi is going to divest its stake in the company.

Both sides are denying any such talks on a merger for now, but maybe it's something we could see in the very near future.