AT&T has announced plans to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion, according to a statement.
DirecTV would remain in El Segundo, Calif., once the announce deal is complete, which reportedly is still facing regulatory hurdles.
As part of the deal, AT&T would be given access to millions of DirecTV subscribers in the United States and Latin America. Also, DirecTV would be able to bundle its television service with AT&T’s phone and broadband plans.
According to the AT&T/DirecTV statement, DirecTV shareholders will receive $95 per share. The share price includes $66.50 per share of AT&T stock.
While the reported equity value of the transaction is $48.5 billion, the total value of the deal is $67.1 billion and includes DirecTV’s net debt.
An interesting side note: it is unclear how this deal, if ultimately approved by regulators, would impact DirecTV’s negotiations with Time Warner Cable Sports Network.
Along with several other cable and satellite providers, DirecTV had held out from coming to terms with Time Warner Cable for the new Dodgers network. Accordingly, DirecTV’s customers in the Los Angeles market have not been able to watch Dodger baseball games this season.
The reported deal would not impact DirecTV’s other sports packages, such as NFL Sunday Ticket.
Each company’s board of directors reportedly approved the deal; however, according to AT&T, the planned merger still needs to be approved by DirecTV’s shareholders.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Dept. of Justice, a few U.S. states, and some Latin American countries also must review the planned merger.
AT&T stated the deal is expected to close in about 12 months.
