DirecTV has decided to terminate its agreement with EchoStar that would have seen DirecTV assume control of Dish TV and Sling TV. According to DirecTV, the company is walking away from the deal due to the two companies being unable to agree exchange debt offer terms.
The debt exchange transaction was a condition of the original agreement for DirecTV to acquire Dish. DirecTV previously explained that the deal would be eligible for termination if noteholders didn’t accept the exchange offer on terms satisfactory to the company.
While now confirmed, termination of the agreement is not due to take effect until 11:59 p.m. ET tonight (Nov. 22).
The deal was expected to result in the creation of one of the largest pay-TV distributors in the United States. At the time of the announcement, DirecTV Chief Executive Officer Bill Morrow agued how “a combined DirecTV and Dish will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV.”
In the latest announcement, Morrow said the termination of the deal won’t stop DirecTV from continuing its mission to offer customers value and choice.
“DirecTV will advance our mission to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests by pursuing innovative products and providing customers with additional choice, flexibility, and control. We are well positioned for the future with a strong balance sheet and support from our long-term partner TPG,” said Morrow.
At the same time as announcing the agreement with EchoStar, AT&T confirmed TPG would acquire its remaining stake in DirecTV. According to the latest announcement, TPG’s acquisition of the remaining stake won’t be affected by DirecTV’s decision to terminate its deal to acquire Dish.
Leave a Reply