AT&T (T) telecommunication giant has just agreed to buy DirecTV for a massive $48.5 billion dollars! AT&T’s website discusses some of the benefits of the deal. AT&T looks to become content creator and distributor across platforms. The company says it will host a conference call Monday May 19, 2014 at 8:30 am, to further discuss details of the acquisition. AT&T has been trading in a fifty two week range of 31.74-37.44, and is currently near its fifty two week highs at 36.74. AT&T has agreed to buy DirecTV for $95 per share. The deal will comprise of $28.50 per share in cash and 66.50 per share in AT&T stock. DirecTV shareholders will receive 1.905 shares of AT&T if the stock is below 34.50 and shareholders will receive 1.724 share if the stock closes 38.58 or above. Regardless DirecTV shareholders should receive a $66.50 in value of shares in AT&T. DirecTV has been trading in a fifty two week range between $57.05-89.46, the stock closed on Friday at $86.18. The deal seems to be a fair deal to DirecTV shareholders. With this big of a deal on the table expect both stocks to be choppy as weary investors make sense of the deal. There is also still the issue of how regulators will react to the proposed acquisition. The Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Comcast (CMCSA) deal announced earlier this year is still in regulators hands; so don’t expect this deal to pass through overnight without some hurdles to overcome. These deals and others proposed in the telecommunication and TV network industries suggest a bigger trend than individual stocks and companies. There have been three major and very similar mergers and acquisitions proposed this year in this industry. These deals each suggesting that the industries want to merge and reshape the entire telecommunication and TV network industry.
