Just wait til the FTC gets ahold of this
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- In a surprise deal handed to the underdog, General Motors Corp.'s board of directors approved Sunday the sale of Hughes Electronics Corp. and its DirecTV unit to EchoStar Communications Corp. for $25.8 billion in stock and cash, said sources close to the deal. The sale, if closed, would make EchoStar the largest satellite television operator in the United States, with 17 million customers and a 91% market share.
EchoStar will pay 0.73 of its shares for each share of Hughes, slightly less than the 0.75 price it disclosed publicly in August (HR 8/6). That values Hughes' shares 20% above Friday's closing price of 15.35. EchoStar will get three of Hughes' nine board seats, and EchoStar chairman and CEO Charles Ergen will lead the company.
EchoStar beat out Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which had been negotiating with GM for a year and a half, looking to add Hughes' DirecTV to its Sky Global satellite network. But News Corp. on Saturday withdrew its proposal, reported at nearly $29 billion in cash and stock, after GM's board of directors could not decide on a buyer earlier in the day.
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- In a surprise deal handed to the underdog, General Motors Corp.'s board of directors approved Sunday the sale of Hughes Electronics Corp. and its DirecTV unit to EchoStar Communications Corp. for $25.8 billion in stock and cash, said sources close to the deal. The sale, if closed, would make EchoStar the largest satellite television operator in the United States, with 17 million customers and a 91% market share.
EchoStar will pay 0.73 of its shares for each share of Hughes, slightly less than the 0.75 price it disclosed publicly in August (HR 8/6). That values Hughes' shares 20% above Friday's closing price of 15.35. EchoStar will get three of Hughes' nine board seats, and EchoStar chairman and CEO Charles Ergen will lead the company.
EchoStar beat out Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which had been negotiating with GM for a year and a half, looking to add Hughes' DirecTV to its Sky Global satellite network. But News Corp. on Saturday withdrew its proposal, reported at nearly $29 billion in cash and stock, after GM's board of directors could not decide on a buyer earlier in the day.