spacetoday.net: AT&T in talks to acquire DirecTV

Posted: Tue, May 13, 2014, 7:01 AM ET (1101 GMT)
AT&T is in negotiations to acquire direct-to-home television company DirecTV in a deal valued as large as $50 billion, according to news reports. While neither company has confirmed details, sources tell the Wall Street Journal and other publications that AT&T would pay a premium of the price of DirecTV stock, which closed Monday at a little more than $87 a share but rose to over $90 a share in after-hours trading. DirecTV operates a fleet of satellites that provide television programming direct to consumers in the United States and Latin America. A formal deal could be announced in the next two weeks. DirecTV had previously been in discussions with DISH Network, another satellite television company, about a potential merger; the two had planned to merge in 2002 but federal regulators blocked those plans.