PHILADELPHIA — General Electric's agreement to buy out the rest of NBC Universal paves the way for it to sell control of the TV and movie company to Comcast in a deal that promises to reshape the entertainment industry.

GE will pay slightly less than the $6 billion that French media conglomerate Vivendi SA hoped to command for its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal, a person with knowledge of the talks said late Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were private and the companies' agreement has not yet been formalized.

The news lessens the uncertainty surrounding GE's planned sale of a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider. That deal, valued at $30 billion, would make Philadelphia-based Comcast one of the nation's largest entertainment companies rivaling the heft of its former takeover target, Walt Disney.

An agreement was supposed to have been announced weeks ago, but GE's talks with Vivendi have been taking longer than expected.

Under terms of its minority ownership of NBC Universal, Vivendi has an annual window to sell its stake, with GE holding the right to first refusal. Vivendi could use the money — two weeks ago, it invested $4.2 billion to take control of Brazilian telecom operator GVT.

But the French media giant knew it had a strong hand — GE wants to sell part of NBC Universal to raise money after suffering losses in its GE Capital unit. Meanwhile, Comcast wants to beef up its programming assets with a marquee name at a price it could handle.

Vivendi hoped to get more than $6 billion for its NBC Universal holdings but $6 billion was GE's ceiling, the person familiar with the situation said.