DirecTV
has
reached
an
agreement
to
acquire
Dish,
alongside
its
parent
company
EchoStar’s
wider
satellite
TV
business,
for
a
single
dollar
—
and
assume
$9.75
billion
of
Dish’s
debt.
Private
equity
firm
TPG
has
arranged
a
two-step
agreement
to
buy
the
remaining
70
percent
of
DirecTV
that
it
didn’t
already
own
from
AT&T
for
a
reported
$7.6
billion
and
merge
all
of
that
with
Dish.
The
deal
announced
Monday
would
combine
Dish’s
roughly
8.1
million
subscribers
with
the
11
million
US
subscribers
under
DirecTV,
The
New
York
Times
reports.
The
agreement
would
see
AT&T
exit
as
a
part-owner
of
DirecTV,
while
EchoStar
separates
from
its
TV
business
to
pursue
the
wonders
of
Open
RAN
5G
once
the
deal
is
closed
in
2025.
The
DirecTV
and
Dish
merger
is
subject
to
regulatory
approval
and
serves
as
a
lifeline
for
EchoStar,
which
has
no
means
to
pay
the
$2
billion
of
its
$20
billion
debt
due
by
November
14th.
DirecTV
previously
attempted
to
merge
with
Dish
in
2002,
but
the
deal
was
blocked
by
the
US
Justice
Department
and
Federal
Communications
Commission
(FCC)
over
competition
concerns.
(Originally posted by Jess Weatherbed)
Comments