AT&T has agreed to buy DirecTV in the latest, gigantic deal to shake up the pay-telivision business, and probably how you'll watch TV in the future.
DirecTV shareholders will receive a total of $95 per share, with $28.50 of which will be paid in cash and $66.50 paid in stock, the companies said Sunday in a statement, which means the deal will be worth a whopping $48.5 billion.
For AT&T, this is going to allow AT&T to pair its wireless network with DirecTV's satellite TV service, which could mean more people getting access to AT&T's TV service, which right now you can only get in parts of the country that are wired for it. It could also mean service bundles, which could be a good thing because, well, bills man, bills. Some are predicting it might eventually eventually wireless TV service.
Pay-TV companies like DirecTV are looking for deals like this because the competition from alternatives that only require an internet connection.
If you're keeping score at home, you'll remember that this follows the proposed $45.2 billion combination of Comcast and Time Warner Cable a few months back.
[Via Cnet]
