AT&T Talking to DirecTV About Potential Acquisition

[cdmagurus.com]

AT&T has spoken to DirecTV about the possibility of acquiring the satellite TV firm, according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing sources familiar with AT&T's plans, the Journal says AT&T wants to grab more pay-TV marketshare and approached DirecTV after Comcast made a bid for Time Warner earlier this year. DirecTV has about 20 million subscribers, and AT&T's U-Verse offering has just under 6 million subscribers. Combined, AT&T and DirecTV would be about the same size - 26 million customers - as the combined Comcast-Time Warner would be. DirecTV's current market capitalization is about $40 billion and AT&T's is about $185 billion, which means it should be fairly easy for AT&T to swallow DirecTV. Dish Networks, the country's other large satellite TV provider, recently won wireless spectrum at auction and has plans to launch a mobile broadband network at some point. Dish's moves and AT&T's interest in DirecTV signal continued consolidation in the TV-internet-phone businesses. It's not clear if or how acquiring DirecTV would impact AT&T's wireless business. Neither AT&T nor DirecTV commented on the Journal's report.


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