DirecTV agrees to buy satellite rival Dish (and its debt) for one dollar
DirecTV today announced an agreement to buy the Dish satellite TV and Sling TV streaming business from EchoStar for a nominal fee of $1 in what the companies called a debt exchange transaction. DirecTV will take on $9.75 billion of Dish debt if the deal is completed.
In a related transaction also announced today, private equity firm TPG plans to buy AT&T’s 70 percent stake in DirecTV. TPG already owns the other 30 percent of DirecTV.
The pending DirecTV/Dish deal would combine the two major satellite TV companies in the US, removing a choice for satellite users. But DirecTV claims it “will benefit US video consumers by creating a more robust competitive force in a video industry dominated by streaming services owned by large tech companies and programmers.” The agreement, which follows years of on-again, off-again merger discussions between the companies, needs regulatory approval and is tentatively planned to close in Q4 2025.