AT&T said to acquire DirectTV for about $100 per share ($50 billion)

[soxhop411]

Bloomberg News ‏@BloombergNews  11m
MORE: AT&T said in advanced talks to buy DirecTV for about $50 billion: http://bloom.bg/QBGCIB 
 

 
AT&T Inc. (T) is in advanced talks to acquire DirecTV (DTV), the largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, for about $100 per share, according to people familiar with the matter.
Under the plan being discussed, DirecTV management will continue to run the company as a unit of AT&T and DirecTV Chief Executive Officer Mike White plans to retire after 2015, said the people, asking not to be named because the information is private.
The $100 per share price values El Segundo, California-based DirecTV at about $50 billion. That’s about 29 percent above DirecTV’s price on April 30, before the Wall Street Journal first reported the companies were in talks.
DirecTV and AT&T are planning on a 12-month regulatory process, one of the people said.
Darris Gringeri, a DirecTV spokesman, declined to comment. Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
 

 

 

[Leskanic's Thread]

 

[DukeSox]

This was fairly inevitable.  One of the other big guys will grab DISH 

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Funny I was just reading an an offer in the mail saying that if I buy DirecTV I can get a great deal on AT&T internet and phone and i'm thinking to myself when the hell did AT&T take over DirecTV.
 
Unless this was just the first time I noticed it but who the hell knows.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Doesn't AT&T own Dish? Or am I confusing Dish with something else. Hmm.

 

[DukeSox]

DISH is standalone
 
Softbank bought Sprint, maybe you are thinking of that

 

[Gdiguy]

Funny I was just reading an an offer in the mail saying that if I buy DirecTV I can get a great deal on AT&T internet and phone and i'm thinking to myself when the hell did AT&T take over DirecTV.
 
Unless this was just the first time I noticed it but who the hell knows.

 
I think they've had a close relationship for a while; the last two apartments I've lived in AT&T didn't offer U-Verse service yet, and so their combo packages for dsl + tv all used DirecTV (over the last 5 years, so not a recent thing)

 

[InstantKarmma]

DirecTv has a similar "package" relationship with other phone providers, too.  I get offers from CenturyTel (CenturyLink?) for DirecTv/phone packages occasionally.

 

[soxhop411]

So this is big news.
"The parties also have agreed that in the unlikely event that the company’s agreement for the `NFL Sunday Ticket' service is not renewed on substantially the terms discussed between the parties, AT&T may elect not to consummate the merger," the companies said in a government filing.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-directv-att-nfl-sunday-ticket-20140519-story.html

 

[Couperin47]

So this is big news.
"The parties also have agreed that in the unlikely event that the company’s agreement for the `NFL Sunday Ticket' service is not renewed on substantially the terms discussed between the parties, AT&T may elect not to consummate the merger," the companies said in a government filing.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-directv-att-nfl-sunday-ticket-20140519-story.html

 
Reality in our 21st century oligopoly economy (with acknowledgment to Yakov Smirnoff): ATT and Direct 'consummate'...and we all get fucked.