Comcast to buy remaining 49 percent stake in Universal Studios Japan

By Anjali Athavaley

(Reuters) - Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) said on Tuesday it would buy the 49 percent it does not already own in Universal Studios Japan (USJ) for 254.8 billion yen ($2.27 billion) as the No. 1 U.S. cable operator seeks to expand its Asian theme parks business.

The deal values the Japanese theme park operator at 840 billion yen ($7.5 billion), including the assumption of net debt.

Comcast is buying USJ from Goldman Sachs (GS.N), private equity firm MBK and other owners.

Elsewhere in Asia, the company is building a theme park in Beijing and licenses one in Singapore.

Universal Studios Japan opened in 2001 as a Japanese company with a license from NBCUniversal. Comcast bought a 51 percent stake in 2015.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of April 2017.

Comcast shares fell 0.4 percent to $37.36 in morning trading on Tuesday.

($1 = 112.1300 yen)

(Additional reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and W Simon)