PATREONItems tagged with (NASDAQ:DTV)
AT&T may have failed in its attempt to acquire rival wireless provider T-Mobile for $39 billion back in 2011, but as for its proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of satellite TV service giant DirecTV, federal regulators are set to approve the deal. Doing so would end a more than yearlong review process that began in May of 2014 when the deal was first announced. While the deal is set to be approved, there are several conditions that AT&T must follow, all of which are outlined in an order Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated to the agency's other commissioners recommending the deal. One of the requirements is that AT&T must expand its GigaPower...
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AT&T's loathing of the FCC's Open Internet Order isn't as strong as its desire to acquire satellite TV provider DirecTV. As such, the telecom is expected to put into writing a promise to abide by the FCC's net neutrality rules in order so that the government organization will be comfortable in green lighting the proposed $48.5 billion merger. This is a big deal for AT&T, a major telecom that's been vehemently opposed to the agency's net neutrality rules, or at least the way it went about implementing them. The FCC earlier this year was successful in reclassifying broadband Internet as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, thus giving itself the power it needed to...
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may have put a stake through the heart of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, but it appears to be satisfied with another major deal that has heavy Internet users like Netflix worried: AT&T appears poised to get the green light from the FCC for its $49 billion purchase of DirecTV. Acquiring DirecTV will be a huge boost to the reach of AT&T’s TV service. The move worries some companies, but apparently not the FCC, which seems to be nearing the end of its review and hasn’t expressed major concerns. Of course, conditions are a possibility: the FCC could impose conditions aimed at protecting Netflix and other online video services. The word is...
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Ahem, not so fast. While the Internet was abuzz yesterday regarding what appeared to be a sudden loosening of restrictions surrounding the highly-coveted NFL Sunday Ticket program, DirecTV has swooped in today to quell some of that excitement. Essentially, the satellite TV company threw up a new splash page on its website that seemed to suggest that folks without DirecTV would be allowed to pony up a yearly fee in order to stream the content on a variety of devices. For cord-cutting NFL fans, it felt like a dream come true. Naturally, nothing that good could ever be. DirecTV has clarified that the streaming-only option applies specifically to those who aren't able to have a satellite dish installed....
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AT&T last month inked a deal with DirecTV to acquire the satellite TV service provider for around $48.5 million in a cash and stock deal. Now all that waits is regulatory approval, but one thing the suits in charge will have to figure out is what the real cost will be to consumers. One of the concerns is that deal like this could ultimately limit consumer choice. As far as AT&T is concerned, the deal is a good one for consumers because the combined companies would be able to offer lower prices on satellite TV and broadband Internet service bundles, which would then put the pressure on cable companies to cut their pricing structure, too. Image Source: Flickr (Mike Mozart) That might be...
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It's official -- AT&T has agreed to acquire DirecTV, the largest satellite TV provider in the U.S. with 20 million customers, for approximately $48.5 billion. It's a stock-and-cash transaction deal worth $95 per share based on AT&T 's Friday closing price, which represents a 10 percent premium. DirecTV shareholders will receive $28.50 per share in cash and $66.50 per share in AT&T stock. That equates to an equity value of $48.5 billion, and a total transaction value of $67.1 billion, including DirecTV's net debt. AT&T plans to finance the cash portion of the deal through a combination of cash on hand, sale of non-core assets, committed financing facilities, and opportunistic debt...
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By this time next year, we may look back and remember when AT&T and DirecTV were separate entities. Nothing is yet imminent, but word on the web is that AT&T is gauging DirecTV's level of interest in being bought out in a deal that could have a monumental impact in the intertwined telecom and pay TV industry. DirecTV's satellite service is home to around 20 million customers, with another 5.7 million signed up for AT&T's TV service. If the two firms agreed on a deal and were allowed to merge, their combined subscribers would be in striking distance of where Comcast is headed with its Time Warner Cable deal, which would give the firm nearly 30 million subscribers. Both AT&T and...
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