KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has extended for another year its contract with marine robotics company Ocean Infinity for a deep-sea search in the southern Indian Ocean for wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared 12 years ago.
The Cabinet on Friday approved the extension of a “no-find, no-fee” agreement with Ocean Infinity until June 30 next year, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Monday.
“This decision is a manifestation of the government’s continuous and unwavering commitment to provide a closure for the next of kin of the passengers aboard flight MH370,” he said in a statement.
The extension enables Ocean Infinity to complete the remaining 7,428.54-square-kilometer (2,868-square-mile) search area, after temporarily redeploying its primary search assets to fulfill other commercial contracts, he said.
The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.
An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to its location, although debris washed ashore on the East African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing.
Malaysia gave the nod last year to Ocean Infinity to renew the search for Flight 370 at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the southern Indian Ocean. Ocean Infinity, which has headquarters both in the U.S. and Britain, will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered.
Loke said Ocean Infinity vessels are expected to be redeployed to the MH370 mission between November and April next year, when calmer sea offers the safest and most effective window for the underwater operations.
FILE - A girl stands in front of a condolence message board during a Day of Remembrance for MH370 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Comcast is planning to split itself into two separate publicly traded companies by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky.
The company said Monday that its board and management team think each company will be better positioned to pursue its own strategic priorities, invest for growth and create long-term shareholder value as independent entities.
The planned move comes after Comcast announced in November 2024 that it was spinning off cable networks such as USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC into a new company. Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site were also included.
Like other cable companies, Comcast in recent years has shifted its business emphasis away from traditional cable toward streaming and other sources of revenue, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services.
Media and entertainment company NBCUniversal includes a theme parks division, Universal film and television studios, NBC and Telemundo networks, Peacock, and Bravo. Its portfolio will now European media business Sky.
Comcast, based in Philadelphia, will continue providing internet services to residential and business customers.
Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will become the CEO of NBCUniversal. Comcast’s former Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis will become the CEO of Comcast, following completion of the separation. In the interim, he will serve as a strategic adviser.
Comcast Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts will continue to be actively involved in the leadership of Comcast and NBCUniversal, working in partnership with the CEOs of both companies.
“Comcast will continue to build on its leadership in connectivity, while NBCUniversal, together with Sky, will have the scale, brands, content and financial resources to compete as a premier global media and entertainment company,” Cavanagh said in a statement.
Once the transaction is complete, Comcast shareholders will own shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal. The separation is expected to be completed in about a year. It still needs final approval from Comcast's board and is subject to regulatory approvals.
Comcast expects to keep a stake of up to 19.9% ownership position in NBCUniversal for up to one year after the spinoff is complete.
In premarket trading, Comcast shares surged 24%.
FILE- A Comcast truck is shown on Jan. 24, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
