London- NBC Universal (NBCU) will acquire Sparrowhawk Holdings and its global portfolio of pay TV channels including the international (non-US) Hallmark Channels, from Providence Equity Partners, 3i and management shareholders. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed The deal looks set to bring NBCU Global Networks’ offerings to more than 30 channels in total, with ongoing plans to expand to more than 50 channels over the next 2-3 years. Sparrowhawk Holding’s 18 feeds of the international Hallmark Channels which air across 152 territories to more than 60 million subscribers in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Latin America and Asia add to NBCU’s portfolio which includes the Sci-Fi, 13th Street, Studio Universal and Universal Channel brands. The company will also take ownership of Movies 24; Diva TV, a new general entertainment and lifestyle channel targeted at women launching in the UK on October 1; as well as Sparrowhawk’s stake in the multi-platform global channel for children and families, KidsCo, a joint venture with DIC Entertainment and Nelvana Enterprises to launch on September 7 in Central and Eastern Europe and subsequently worldwide.