AT&T pushes ahead with auction of DirecTV despite lowball bids

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

AT&T is pressing ahead with an auction of DirecTV — and it’s shaping up to be a fire sale.

The telecom giant last week invited a handful of suitors into the second round of an auction of the struggling satellite-TV broadcaster, even though first-round bids had valued DirecTV at well below $20 billion, The Post has learned.

Opening bids from a coterie of buyout firms came in at around 3.5 times DirecTV’s roughly $4.5 billion of Ebitda, implying a valuation at around $15.75 billion, according to a source close to the process.

That’s less than a third of the $49 billion that AT&T shelled out for DirecTV just five years ago under former chief executive Randall Stephenson, a deal that also included the assumption of $18 billion in debt.

https://nypost.com/2020/10/06/att-pushes-ahead-with-auction-of-directv-despite-lowball-bids/

Understandable though.

 

[Don CT]

Is this story reliable?

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/03/att...s.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

Here is more

AT&T is in discussions with private-equity firms, including Apollo Management, to sell a significant minority stake in its DirecTV, AT&T Now and U-Verse pay-TV businesses in a complicated transaction that would shift legacy assets off the wireless carrier’s balance sheet, according to people familiar with the matter

Under the terms of the proposed deal, AT&T would retain majority economic ownership of the businesses, and would maintain ownership of U-verse infrastructure, including plants and fiber. The buyer would control the pay-TV distribution operations and consolidate the business on its books. The deal could include 30% to 49% of the combined pay-TV distribution businesses, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

Final bids are due in early December, the people said. While valuations haven’t been determined, a deal may value DirecTV at less than $15 billion including debt, two of the people said. AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 for $67 billion with debt. A deal will not include DirecTV’s Latin American business, the people said.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.nexttv.com/news/dishs-ergen-on-directv-satellite-merger-still-inevitable

Here we go again Dish being named as a candidate to get Directv.

 

[Kelly A]

This whole thing is a travesty, typical of AT&T. DirecTV was crushing Dish Network, then AT&T buys them, ignores it, trashes the web presence by integrating it into the main AT&T site. Customer service, which prior to AT&T used to be heads and shoulders above all other cable and satellite providers. AT&T drives the business into the ground from neglect and will end up selling it for pennies on the dollar.