MoneyCentral and CNBC.com to Merge

More dot-com consolidation: Microsoft Corp. and NBC said Monday that they will merge their financial Web sites, MoneyCentral and CNBC.com, into a personal finance site expected to launch this summer. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Microsoft and General Electric’s NBC unit already have a 50-50 partnership in MSNBC, a cable news channel and Web site.

The new site, CNBC MoneyCentral, will become part of MSN, Microsoft’s family of online sites that also includes Slate and Hotmail, company executives said in a conference call with journalists.

Microsoft will operate the Web site out of offices near its Redmond, Wash., headquarters. Editorial services will be split between Redmond and Fort Lee, N.J., where CNBC is based.

Bob Wright, NBC chief executive, said the deal probably will result in some layoffs, but he didn’t think they will be substantial.

NBC recently shut down its main Internet initiative, NBC Internet.

For Microsoft, a broader content offering is another selling point for its planned set of Internet-based premium services, called HailStorm, said Rick Belluzzo, the software giant’s president.