The boards of AT&T and DirecTV held special meetings on Sunday where they approved a plan for the latter to be bought out by the former for $95-per-share.
Rumors of the deal surfaced early last week
and it was leaked then that a deal could be announced within days, and
so it has, with both boards approving the deal simultaneously and
unanimously. AT&T will acquire DirecTV in a mix of stock and cash.
AT&T trumps this deal as a creation of a “unique new competitor with unprecedented capabilities in mobility, video and broadband services.” It is expected that AT&T will use this new asset to augment U-Verse offers, which will, in turn, free up bandwidth demands in those markets.
DirecTV
is already sold at many AT&T retail locations, and with a portfolio
that includes NFL Sunday Ticket, and other sports oriented content
offers, AT&T will be able to better bundle these services with its wireless line-up, including expanded delivery of content to mobile devices.
AT&T has issued a number of commitments as part of the transaction. AT&T plans to deploy broadband
services to more rural areas by using fixed-wireless and fiber
installations. A stand-alone broadband package with guaranteed pricing
for three years. There will be a nationwide DirecTV pricing package,
consistent for three years.
AT&T also commits to
net-neutrality, regardless of any rulings that come from the FCC that
may vacate such requirements. Finally, AT&T re-committed to
participate in next-year’s spectrum auction, although it does point out
the caveat “as long as there is sufficient spectrum available in the
auction to provide AT&T a viable path to at least a 2x10MHz
nationwide spectrum footprint.” The company notes that the deal with
DirecTV will not stop it from spending at least $9 billion in the
auctions in 2015.
Of course, regulators in Washington, DC, a few
states, and some governments in Latin America need to sign off on the
deal. Assuming everything moves forward, that process will take about a
year.
source: AT&T
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