AT&T is close to announcing that it will purchase the No. 1 U.S. satellite TV operator DirecTV, according to people familiar with the matter, in the second potentially transformative deal to jolt the U.S. television industry this year.The No. 2 U.S. cellular operator, which also has some TV and broadband services, has been in active discussions to buy DirecTV for nearly $50 billion, or low to mid-$90s per share, and has been working to finalize a deal in coming weeks, Reuters reported last Monday.The two companies agreed key terms of the proposed transaction and are expected to announce the deal in days pending final approval from each company's board, one of the people said on Saturday, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.The takeover would be the latest in a string of mega-acquisitions AT&T has considered. Those include an abortive bid for T-Mobile USA in 2011, as well as a potential takeover of Vodafone Plc, which receded as a possibility after Comcast Corp surprised the industry this year with a $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable Inc.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) is a provider of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States with systems located in five geographic areas: New York State, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas. Shares of TWC fell by 0.26% or $-0.36/share to $136.68. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $92.87 and as high as $147.28. On average, 3070310 shares of TWC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1556263.
Time Warner Inc. (Time Warner) is a media and entertainment company. Shares of TWX traded higher by 0.57% or $0.39/share to $68.89. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.71 and as high as $70.77. On average, 5576640 shares of TWX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6045182.
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