AT&T plans for $48.5B acquisition of DirecTV remains in front of regulators
AT&T filed another extension on its planned $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV as the pending deal remains in regulatory limbo.
In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AT&T noted that both parties had “elected to further extend the ‘termination date’ of the merger agreement for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger.”
There was no date on the extent of the extension, which was initially expected to close by midyear. The transaction, which was announced more than one year ago, continues to sit at Day 170 out of a potential 180-day Federal Communications Commission review process, a date it has been stuck on since the FCC stopped the review process in mid-March.
There is no word on when the review process will restart, though AT&T noted in the 8-K filing it expects the deal to be “consummated shortly.”
The proposed transaction had been tied to Comcast’s attempt to acquire Time Warner Cable that in April was scuttled by regulators, with analysts in general more positive on the progress of the AT&T-DirecTV deal due to it not being as vertically oriented.
As part of the proposed deal, AT&T said it would commit to expanding broadband coverage to 15 million rural homes; continue to offer a standalone broadband service providing at least 6 megabits per second speed “where feasible” in current markets at a fixed priced for three years; continue offering a standalone DirecTV service for at least three years; and continue its commitment to net neutrality efforts.
More importantly for the wireless industry, AT&T said it remains committed to spending at least $9 billion in the government’s planned 600 MHz incentive auction scheduled for next year if there is sufficient spectrum made available for a nationwide 20 megahertz footprint. AT&T recently shelled out more than $18 billion tied to winning bids in the FCC’s Auction 97 proceedings.
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