DirectTV sold to AT&T for $48.5bn in US mega deal
DIRECTTV, the No. 1 US satellite TV operator, said last night it has agreed to sell itself to AT&T for $48.5bn, in the second mega-deal to shake up the US television landscape this year.
AT&T said it is offering $95 per DirecTV share in a combination of stock and cash, a 10 per cent premium over Friday’s closing price of $86.18. The cash portion, $28.50 per share, will be financed by cash, asset sales, financing already lined up and other “opportunistic debt market transactions”.
The transaction has a total value of $67.1bn, including DirecTV’s net debt. As part of the deal, and to help regulatory approval, AT&T will sell its roughly eight per cent stake in Carlos Slim’s America Movil. DirecTV has some 18m customers throughout Latin America. AT&T said it expects the takeover to deliver cost savings at an annual rate of $1.6bn by the third year after closing.
“This is a unique opportunity that will redefine the video entertainment industry and create a company able to offer new bundles and deliver content to consumers across multiple screens,” AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson said.