AT&T (NYSE:T) has completed its acquisition of pan-American DTH player DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) more than a year after the deal was first announced.
On Friday, the FCC green-lit the US$48.5bn takeover with conditions following an in-depth regulatory…
AT&T (NYSE:T) has completed its acquisition of pan-American DTH player DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) more than a year after the deal was first announced.
On Friday, the FCC green-lit the US$48.5bn takeover with conditions following an in-depth regulatory review.
The Department of Justice had also cleared the merger, which forms the largest pay TV provider in the US and worldwide.
“Combining DirecTV with AT&T is all about giving customers more choices for great video entertainment integrated with mobile and high-speed Internet service,” AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said.
“This transaction allows us to significantly expand our high-speed Internet service to reach millions more households, which is a perfect complement to our coast-to-coast TV and mobile coverage,” he added.
“We’re now a fundamentally different company with a diversified set of capabilities and businesses that set us apart from the competition.”
The merged company will have more than 26 million pay TV customers in the United States and more than 19 million customers in Latin America, including Mexico and the Caribbean.
AT&T also claims to have more than 132 million wireless subscribers and connections in the US and Mexico.
The company aims to integrate the two businesses over the coming months.
As part of the plans, John Stankey has been appointed as CEO of AT&T Entertainment & Internet Services, responsible for leading the combined DirecTV and AT&T home solutions operations. He will report to Stephenson. DirecTV president, chairman and CEO Mike White will retire.
Under the terms of the merger, DirecTV shareholders received 1.892 shares of AT&T common stock, in addition to US$28.50 in cash, per DirecTV share.
As a result of the takeover, as well as AT&T’s acquisition of Iusacell and Nextel Mexico, the Texas-based telco expects that, by the end of 2015, it will generate most of its revenues from its business solutions (both wireless and wireline), entertainment and internet, consumer mobility, and international mobility and video units.
