Satellite TV giant DirecTV and Charlie Ergen's EchoStar said Monday they have entered into a definitive agreement under which DirecTV will acquire EchoStar's Dish DBS video distribution business, including Dish TV and Sling TV, through a stock exchange transaction. debts.
The combination “will benefit U.S. video consumers by creating a stronger competitive force in a video industry dominated by streaming services owned by large technology companies and programmers,” the companies said. “The transaction will provide consumers with compelling video options, while enhancing EchoStar's financial profile as it continues to further enhance and deploy its nationwide 5G Open RAN wireless network.”
“DIRECTV operates in a highly competitive video distribution industry,” said Bill Morrow, CEO of DIRECTV. “With greater scale, we expect DIRECTV and DISH combined to be able to better work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate, curate and distribute content tailored to the interests of customers, and to be better positioned to realize operational efficiencies by creating value for customers through further investments.”
Hamid Akhavan, president and CEO of EchoStar, added: “This agreement is in the best interests of EchoStar's customers, shareholders, bondholders, employees and partners. With an improved financial profile, we will be in a better position to continue improving and deploying our nationwide 5G Open RAN wireless network. This will give U.S. wireless consumers more choices and help drive innovation at a faster pace. We expect DISH and EchoStar bondholders will benefit from two companies with stronger financial profiles and more sustainable capital structures.”